PRINT MISC WRITER Doug Anderson writes:

“Back from Paris. The usuals are still in place: The food was great, the plumbing old, the light pretty, the buildings grand. The French were–contrary to most I had heard–courteous. Exceptions were a couple dicey encounters with Arab French who–I suppose–took us for Israel=supporting Americanos (we are, but they didn’t bother to find out where we stood before they unloaded their full boorishness on us).

“Touring Louis XIV’s Versailles Palace, my friend and I noticed a painting (circa 1720) of a black servant fluffing the giant sleeves of a princess. I think it’s a bit late in the day for Le Pen to be railing against ‘colored’ immigration. A Metro riding poll shows Paris to be about 60 percent black and Arab.”

More of Anderson’s writings (on other topics) can be found at his site Klang.