Pause: Nation

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As a transportation hub between the 11th and 12th arrondissements, »Nation« appears again and again and has a similar charm to Châtelet: none at all. It's only when you emerge from the depths that you see what you've been missing. The Place de la Nation is a huge square surrounded by a traffic circle with a monument in the middle. Very typical ...

On the other hand, it isn't, because the traffic isn't as bad as you might imagine and when the weather is nice and the temperatures are warmer, people gather here. You can see the dog owners chatting with each other. People use the numerous seating areas around the »Triomphe de la République« monument (what else) or simply lie on the grass. Then it no longer has the charm of a traffic junction. 

Twelve streets lead off the square - difficult to keep track of. Almost like the numerous lines that intersect the square. If you don't choose the right entrance to your line, you can have real fun and run yourself silly.

Two columns have also been built in the direction of the Cours de Vincennes. These were intended to mark the former city boundary. They are based on designs by Claude-Nicolas Ledoux, so they are simply called the Ledoux Columns.

As we also experienced, the square is often used for demonstrations. This can also be seen on the Triumph Lady at the moment, as the last event was only three days ago.

Now this is not a travel diary, but some kind of reference to Maigret has to be made. My first approach would have been that it's such a huge (and somehow beautiful) square in Paris and I have no recollection of it playing a role at all. And I was almost right in my assumption ... if it weren't for the 0th case. At the end of the third chapter, the square plays a brief supporting role:

When he reached the Porte de Montreuil, the cab was only a hundred meters away. He grabbed one for himself, which followed the first through the Rue d'Avron, circled the Place de la Nation with him, drove slowly through the congested Faubourg Saint-Antoine and stopped at the Place de la Bastille.

This lack of presence, undeserved as it is, is certainly also due to the peripheral location of the pitch.