Guinguette
Encyclopedia
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and other cities in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Guinguettes would also serve as restaurants and, often, as dance venues. The origin of the term comes from guinguet, indicating a sour white light local wine. A Goguette
Goguette
A Goguette was a singing society in France and Belgium, and its members were called goguettiers. As well as providing venues for informal solo and ensemble singing, goguettes also served as places for drinking, socialising, and recreation....
was a similar kind of establishment.
History
Consumer revolution
The term consumer revolution refers to the period from the late sixteenth century to the nineteenth century in which there was a marked increase in consumption of various goods and products by individuals from different economic and social backgrounds...
led once isolated villages and hamlets outside Paris to be swept up in a booming material culture. Commodities, and particularly alcohol, consumed outside the customs barrier of the city were considerably cheaper, being exempt from state taxes. This encouraged the growth of an entertainment industry just beyond the taxman's reach and a network of drinking establishments was established. They were especially popular on Sundays and holidays, when Parisians would visit to enjoy themselves and to get drunk cheaply. Today, the term 'guingette' is still used for a waterside refreshment place, particularly open-air, all over France.
The development of railways in the 1880s and the establishment of the station of "Gare de La Bastille
Gare de La Bastille
Gare de La Bastille was a railway station in Paris. The station was opened in 1859 and served as the terminus of the -long line to Vincennes and Verneuil-l'Étang. The line was opened only to serve the Fort de Vincennes, and was extended to La Varenne and later to Brie-Comte-Robert. The line finally...
" with many trains to the east suburbs of Paris (such as Nogent sur Marne) contributed to the success of guinguettes.
Geography
The majority are on the edges of the SeineSeine
The Seine is a -long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Saint-Seine near Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre . It is navigable by ocean-going vessels...
and the Marne
Marne
Marne is a department in north-eastern France named after the river Marne which flows through the department. The prefecture of Marne is Châlons-en-Champagne...
, and some are in a district that stretches to the outskirts of Rouen
Rouen
Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...
. Some guinguettes were however far from the rivers, as the picturesque guinguettes of le Plessis-Robinson
Le Plessis-Robinson
Le Plessis-Robinson is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.-History:Plessis was first mentioned in 839 located next to Châtenay .Plessiacus became Plessis-Raoul in 1250....
built among the chestnut trees. There were hundreds of guinguettes as far away as Nogent-sur-Seine
Nogent-sur-Seine
Nogent-sur-Seine is a commune in the Aube department in north-central France.-Population:-Personalities:Camille Claudel lived in Nogent-sur-Seine with her family from 1876 to 1879....
, where the nature of the Seine valley changes most.
Tradition decline and return
Today guinguettes are an object of nostalgia for those who lived in the period. The guinguettes were marvellous places to return to lighter times during the mad years of the 1920sRoaring Twenties
The Roaring Twenties is a phrase used to describe the 1920s, principally in North America, but also in London, Berlin and Paris for a period of sustained economic prosperity. The phrase was meant to emphasize the period's social, artistic, and cultural dynamism...
. They were obviously an eminent subject for painting during the first half of the 20th century.
But television and the ban on bathing in the rivers in the 1960s caused the decline of guinguettes. This ban was justified for reasons of hygiene (water quality deteriorated in the 1960s and 1970s) and security (the risk due to barge traffic and drowning). In the 1960s, guinguettes became a matter for nostalgia
Nostalgia
The term nostalgia describes a yearning for the past, often in idealized form.The word is a learned formation of a Greek compound, consisting of , meaning "returning home", a Homeric word, and , meaning "pain, ache"...
. Many people forgot guinguettes, as the French scriptwriter Michel Audiard had one of his characters point out. Since the 1980s, there is a certain revival, particularly in the loops of the Marne river. Even now in 2008, some guinguettes remain opened every week-end.
As of 2011 a gradual return to modern Guinguettes had started.
Movies with guinguettes
- Nogent, Eldorado du dimanche (="Nogent, sunday eldorado") - Marcel CarnéMarcel Carné-Biography:Born in Paris, France, the son of a cabinet maker whose wife died when their son was five, Carné began his career as a film critic, becoming editor of the weekly publication, Hebdo-Films, and working for Cinémagazine and Cinémonde between 1929 and 1933. In the same period he worked in...
, 1929 - La Belle Équipe (="the fine crew") - Julien DuvivierJulien DuvivierJulien Duvivier was a French film director. He was prominent in French cinema in the years 1930-1960...
, 1936 with Jean GabinJean Gabin-Biography:Born Jean-Alexis Moncorgé in Paris, he grew up in the village of Mériel in the Seine-et-Oise département, about 22 mi north of Paris. The son of cabaret entertainers, he attended the Lycée Janson de Sailly...
singing the well-known waltz Quand on s'promène au bord de l'eau (="walking on the river bank") - Casque d'orCasque d'orCasque d'or is a 1952 French film directed by Jacques Becker. It is a Belle Époque tragedy, the story of an ill-fated love affair between characters played by Simone Signoret and Serge Reggiani.-Plot:...
(="golden helmet") - Jacques BeckerJacques BeckerJacques Becker was a French screenwriter and film director.Becker was born in Paris, in an upper class background. During the 1930s he worked as an assistant to director Jean Renoir during his peak period, which produced such cinematic masterpieces as Grand Illusion and The Rules of the Game...
, 1952