No more glitz: I’m happy chez moi with DVDs

The crisis which has engulfed America and Britain this week is slowly but surely arriving in Paris. But for once, there is no schadenfreude about the misery Americans are suffering.

"Did you notice that fewer people took long summer holidays this year?" my friend Anne, a poet, enquired over a scaled-down but still delicious lunch. She also mentioned that she no longer goes to Bon Marché, that Mecca of consumerism in the 6th arrondissement.

I had noticed that more people stayed in Paris for their summer break. "No Greece this year," said my neighbour. "Brittany is fine." But it's more than that. On Monday morning, when I did my weekly Monoprix shop, the store was empty. It was eerie because usually I have to claw my way to the carrot counter.

Zara, on Rue des Rennes, a horrible place which is usually filled with spotty, spoilt teenagers, was also deserted yesterday afternoon at prime shopping time.

An older French friend points out that during the Thirties, flocks of wealthy Americans stormed Paris to avoid the havoc at home. Those were the days of renting an apartment near Blvd St Germain for almost nothing and eating at Le Select for half the price of Delmonico's in Manhattan.

But now, it's rare to see American tourists here, and the expats are hurting. Three families I know — all of whom had lived here for more than a decade — left over the summer.

I don't feel too sorry for fat-cat Americans. But for ordinary Parisians,such as my elderly neighbour downstairs who bristles at paying nearly a euro for a baguette, life is getting hard.

Everyone has their way of coping. My husband is switching off lights and refusing to put on the heating. I have been warned not to buy clothes, CDs or books for six months, and to start going to the outdoor market at Blvd Edgar Quinet rather than the flashy one on Blvd Raspail.

I am not alone. Nearly everyone I know is broke. And remember, in France, you are not allowed to run an overdraft. But maybe budgeting is not a bad idea. We really don't need very much. So goodbye to flashy times, champagne dinners and outings to the ballet and opera. Hello to staying home and watching a pirated Coen Brothers DVD.
And after a lifetime of over-indulgence, I have to say the Zen-ness of it is rather appealing.