my name is mwd

Yesterday I was in Paris briefly for work. It’s only been a couple of months since I was last in Paris, but there where two very noticeable things about the city that had changed. Firstly, the city apparently isn’t always covered in fly posters for Nicolas Sarkozy and Segolene Royal – when I was there previously for my first visit, Laura and I were there the days before the presidential election. Now the posters that covered every free bit of boarding in the city have gone. Secondly was the appearance of hundreds of bike stands like these:

Here a man is returning a rented bike. Off shot is an empty rank with space for 20 odd such bikes. Apparently for one euro a day you can have a bike for as many half hour bursts as you like, but you need to return the bike to a stand like this in between. I’m not sure what happens if you go to get a bike and there’s none there, other than perhaps wait for one to arrive. Anyway, seems like a good scheme if it works.