"[T]he veneration accorded to Paris by Americans is puzzling. Like other grand cities, this one certainly has an aura -- yet its cultural credentials are hardly the world's most impressive. If anything, its most enduring characteristic is a distinct whiff of merde de taureau. It wasn't Paris that delivered Bach, Beethoven, Shakespeare, Tolstoy, Leonardo, Marx, Michelangelo or the Beatles. Instead, the city has given us the likes of bohemianism, deconstructionism, symbolism and the nouvelle vague. All of these were quite fun at the time, but in retrospect seem somewhat less than the real deal. The city's aesthetic soul appears to have more to do with Gitanes, cafe society and elegant posturing." Wait -- symbolism is over? And Roman Polanski lives there? Sacrebleu! [The Guardian]