Thierry Paquot, philosopher, editor of "Urbanisme" magazine

Does the identity of Greater Paris already exist?

Thierry Paquot - It has yet to be built. From the moment the word "banlieusard" was invented in 1889, the notion was pejorative. And when the metro was inaugurated in 1900, it stopped at the gates of Paris. The imagination of Paris was limited to the 20 arrondissements, albeit unevenly. Literature and the cinema still live in this state of mind. We continue to see the suburbs as a rather bleak area, with big, sad housing estates, factories, warehouses, cemeteries, interchanges, everything that makes a 'stain', what Céline called 'a doormat'. The Italian urban planner Alberto Magnaghi rightly said that a territory "is an act of love between humans and a site". From this point of view, the territory of Greater Paris remains to be invented, all the more so as the projects presented so far remain very evasive on the question of administrative boundaries and governance arrangements.

And this invention involves...?

T. P. - ...traffic, routes! Being aware of a city or an area is an experience. It puts the body and its five senses to the test. Moving from one place to another means taking the measure of distances, topography, nature, monuments and people. For the time being, there's still a ring road in our heads, preventing us from discovering what, for the time being, remains underestimated or unknown. Take the Sunday market in Sarcelles, which is absolutely fabulous: I'm sure a lot of people would go there if they knew it existed and knew that Sarcelles wasn't so far away? The same goes for the Parc de la Courneuve, which is immense and splendid. The same goes for all the canals, lined with towpaths; they're extraordinary walks. But there are always obstacles, barriers and constraints.

The question also arises in terms of political representation...

T. P. - This is a fundamental question. Which territory for which democracy? For example, I live in Choisy-le-Roi, so I vote to elect the mayor. But this is a "sleeping democracy", so I want to vote where I live, work, go out, shop, etc., so the mayor of Paris! I think that we will have no choice but to set up an assembly of elected representatives to appoint a mayor for Greater Paris, and that we need to experiment with new forms of government for this territory, which is no longer just decisive for France, but for Europe as well.

Latest book: "La folie des hauteurs" (Bourin éditeur, October 2008).