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In-line skating (rollerblades) and roller
skating events take place every Friday night and Sunday afternoon in Paris.
They depart from either Place de la Bastille (11th) or Montparnasse (15th).
If you don't bring your own equipment, rentals are available at Bastille.
I was reminded
of these events one Sunday. Outside of my hotel room the monuments that
I saw stood still. The cars below waited and didn't move even though the
traffic light was green. At the same moment, the Paris below me was
rolling right along.
It is a Sunday and
the parade of in-line skaters and roller skaters pass under the metro bridge for
their weekly "stroll" (randonée). It doesn't matter if it is
January, if it is not raining, the crowds follow the leaders on their skates.
The police hold
the traffic as the skaters cross under bridge of metro line 6. The end
of the group is followed by white vans.
Sunday is Family
Day open to all the skaters with a minimum of skills and departs from
Place de la Bastille at 2:30 p.m.
Experts (in
braking) can skate on Friday nights, others go can skate in mixed
company with foot scooters and wheel chairs. The second Tuesday of
each month is girls-only skating.
These skating
events are treated as a regular demonstration (manif). Instead of
a strike, people are roller skating with the required permission from
the Prefecture of Police and accompanied by the Roller Brigade of the
police department.
Sunday route
The
Sunday route takes about three hours if you keep with the group. They
have a break in the middle of the run for about twenty minutes. The police
gather everyone together and then continue on their tour.
The group leaves at 2:30 p.m.
and returns around 5:30 p.m.
The route begins and ends at
Place de la Bastille. You can see the complete route mapped out on the
Prefecture de Police's website.
They travel between Bastille,
Opera, Hotel de Ville, Place Saint Michel, take a break at Invalides,
continue past Montparnasse, Boulevard Saint Germain, Boulevard de Bercy and
back to Bastille. The route may vary week to week. The precise route will be
given on the
Prefecture de Police's website.
This is a nice family outing
that Erik, my husband, has participated in (I do not know how to inline
skate).
The Sunday group began in 1996
with a couple of friends strolling around on their rollerblades through
Paris. By 1997, the police asked them start a club, structure this activity
and designate their route. They officially became known as "Rollers
& Coquillages®". Their website is available in
English and
French.
Friday night
The itinerary for
Friday night begins at Montparnasse, Place Raoul Dautry in the 14th
arrondissement at 10 p.m. and ends around 1 a.m. in the same spot.
On the word of others, this
event requires much more skill. It is organized by
Pari-Roller.
The
Prefecture de Police's website police website gives a long list of all
the places you will pass and a map of the route. Their break is scheduled
around Boulevard de Bercy.
The general route begins at Boulevard du
Montparnasse, Boulevard Saint Michel, Hotel de Ville, Rue de Rivoli, Place
Vendôme, Place de la Nation, pause at Boulevard de Bercy,
travel back across the Seine, travel the south of Paris, along the Seine to
Invalides and back to Montparnasse -- I'm exhausted just reading where the
tour takes you!! -- be sure to look at their map.
Skate rentals
The closest one to Bastille is Nomades, 37
Boulevard Bourdon, 75004, Telephone 01 44 54 07 44.
www.nomadeshop.com
Call and check their hours. They will change
with the season. In the winter they are closed on Mondays.
Otherwise they are open Monday through Friday
11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
During the week, rentals are 8 euros for the
day; on the weekend, 9 euros for the day. Three-piece guards are 1 euro and
a helmet is 2 euros.
For more addresses I found a website:
Roller
Squad Institut that provides addresses all over Paris where you can rent
skates.
If you are visiting Paris with some in a
wheel chair, group outings depart on a designated day from Place Royal (1st
arrondissement) at 2:30 p.m. and return there at 6:30 p.m. The route is
usually 10 to 20 km
long.
Trivia
The correct term for this sport in English is
"inline skating".
"Inline skating is the official term for the
sport and is synonymous with rollerblading. The commonly misused term of
rollerblading is due to the company Rollerblade, which manufactures inline
skates. This lead to the generic use of of the term rollerblade to stand for
all inline skates, even those made by other companies. This is similar to
the use of the brand names like xerox and kleenex. Within the general
defintion of inline skating there is inline speed skating for racers, street
skating for tricksters, trail skating for recreational skaters, and marathon
skating for marathoners." --
Jim Safianuk
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May 2008