For its 80th anniversary, Le Parisien entrusts the pen to more than 70 prestigious guests. Exceptional meetings, surprising interviews, field reports, analysis of our survey “In the minds of the French”, offbeat columns… Journalists for a day at Le Parisien, they have all agreed to join our editorial team for a special issue to be found this Sunday on newsstands and on our site.
The young boy in the photo is me. I’m 15, I have half a pot of concrete hold gel in my hair, a mini-board around my neck, even though I’ve never surfed. I’m a pretty good student (it’s after that that things will go downhill) and, what the photo doesn’t show: I’m super shy. It’s the end of 2004, my 3rd year internship is fast approaching. I’m no different from the other kids, discreet in public, always ready to laugh with friends, but never really misbehaving (one hour of detention in my entire schooling).
Looking back, one thing may have set me apart from others. While some have already had this feeling of crossing paths with the divine, of having a premonition or any other totally unexplained or inexplicable feeling, I have always felt when a special train was arriving and knew that I should not miss it. And the one from the 3rd year internship, at that moment, it was my chance. I don’t know exactly what I want to do in life, but I already know what I don’t want to do: a boring job.
