Place de la Nation

We had lunch with my former PhD advisor and her husband today at their apartment in the 20th arr. We hadn't seen each other since before the pandemic and it was fantastic to catch up with them. Afterwards, we walked down the cours de Vincennes to the two columns of the barrière du trône that are visible to the right of my photo. These columns mark the spot where taxes were collected on goods being brought into Paris. A very active guillotine was also placed there during the Terror, in 1794. The statue on the right of the photo represents the "triumph of the Republic" (1899, by Dalou). 

Yesterday, the big demonstration against the proposed reforms to retirements ended in Place to la Nation and our friends said they could hear the tear-gas cannisters being shot into the crowd to disperse the protestors after sundown.