Places I Find Myself

This time, a French Aristocratic Mansion in the 7th Arrondissement

There’s a strange feeling in beautiful, empty places like this. It’s not haunted, no, because from time to time, people do fill the space—always wealthy—for private dinners or fashion shows. Maybe it’s the air of shame, that such a place sits empty, taking up so much of what it offers: space. Maybe it’s in whatever it takes to keep each chandelier well dusted and the floors polished. Maybe it’s what is left over after the exchange between the space and the people who are paid to dust and polish it, like when you get a pedicure—do you ever really look in the eye of the person scrubbing the scum from your feet?

The big empty house has been bought and sold from one rich man to another for centuries; most recently it was acquired by the Republic of Gabon in 2010 for 100 Million Euros. The Republic of Gabon is an African country that gained full autonomy from France in the 1960s; and for nearly 60 years after, was ruled by the same political family who kept “winning” elections by slim margins. They were overthrown in 2023 after a military coup.

Presidential terms in Gabon are still 7 years long… can you imagine?

Anyway, word on the street is the big empty house is for sale again, if you’re looking to sink a couple hundred million into something.

The most Baby Blue room ever