For me Paris is the personification of a beautiful and notoriously ineffaceable first love. In the late seventies, when I was still seeking my voice as a photographer, head in the clouds, I forced a vital meeting with Jeanloup Sieff at Café de Flore in Paris. It left a long-lasting impression. The cinematic way in which this iconic photographer managed to capture extraordinary.

life, his captivating perspectives and the colourful characters populating his scenes, fascinated me without end.

At the time I lived in the streets of Serge Gainsbourg and Aznavour. I walked the same paths as the legendary Cathérine Deneuve and Jeanne Moreau. Inspired by the microcosm that is Saint-Germain, the casual, somewhat careless attitude of the bartenders in Les Deus Magots and Café de Flore, the boisterous ambiance in Brasserie Lipp… the idea came to mind to make my own record of the inimitable nonchalance of Parisian cafés. To capture the unique way of life in the Parisian métropole tout court.

Paris is a woman, London is a man. Paris charms mercilessly, cunningly. She gets under your skin. London will let you return home with your luggage, while Paris will keep your clothes in her closet.

This book is my ode to that passionate woman. Through a well-thought-out sequence of seemingly casual images, I present you with my vision of this enchanting temptress. Taste and discover. Fall in love! But beware that once she has you in her spell, she will never let you go…

Henk van Cauwenbergh