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A Field Guide To The Birds Of Paris
Pierre-Louis Colin, a speechwriter for the French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner, has written a book titled: "The Paris Guide to Pretty Women".
"Just as every region has its gastronomy, every quartier has its feminine speciality," writes M Colin, who has recently co-authored another book with his boss.
There are some risque quotes in the tome: "You do not find in Menilmontant the sublime legs you see at the Madeleine. But you do find perfectly shameless cleavages, radiant breasts often uncluttered by a bra".
The current President's wife, Carla Bruni, is said to be fond of the Madeleine quartier; Colin praises the mature bourgeoise of this neighbourhood as the "stuff of sexual fantasies."
There is much serious detail in this 190-page guide. District by district we are informed where we can note the best observation posts: bars, cafés, supermarkets, museums, metro trains (with particular reference to destinations). And the best time of the day or evening to make a reconnaissance. The diligent author even points readers to a table in a Marais café suitable for looking up ladies' skirts as they climb the stairs.
Some erudite critis have described this work of littérature as "lustful and lecherous". Perhaps the critics have a little too much political correctness in their veins. Colin opposes what he describes as "Anglo-Saxon" PC attitudes, and describes his field guide as a celebration of the freedom of Frenchwomen.
