Louvre Pyramid

The D&O Diary’s European assignment continued last week, with a final stop on the tour in the French capital city of Paris. Though it was occasionally a little chilly, the weather otherwise was spring-like, and the city itself was, as always, beautiful.

My primary purpose for visiting Paris was to participate in a series of meetings in the local office of the Italian insurer, Generali. I participated in two hybrid meetings, with Generali staffers in remote offices joining in via the web. Though I was not able to meet directly with many of the participants, the hybrid sessions did give me a chance to become acquainted with many of the financial lines professionals at Generali. It was a pleasure to be a part of these meetings. I would like to thank Arturo Luna Ibarra for inviting me to Paris, and to Arturo and his colleagues Benedetta Marcato and Tatiana Boilot for welcoming me and for being such good hosts. I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to meet with them and their colleagues.

Because my meeting with the Generali financial lines professionals was hybrid, the official meeting photograph is hybrid as well. Though I always prefer meeting face to face, it still was great to have a chance to become acquainted with everyone.
In addition to the hybrid meeting with all of the financial lines professionals, I also participated in a separate seminar on Central and Eastern European D&O. The session was quite informative. I would like to thank Vojtěch Frýdman for organizing and leading the session.
Out to dinner with Arturo Luna Ibarra and Benedetta Mercato. I am grateful to them, and to their colleague Tatiana Boilot, for inviting me to meet with them and their colleagues. They were excellent hosts.

One of my main objectives while in Paris was to see the results from the completed renovation of Notre-Dame de Paris, following the April 2019 fire. The church reopened in December 2024 after nearly five years of work, which cost more than €700. Though work on the exterior is continuing and will not be fully complete until 2026, the repairs to the interior are largely finished — and the results are impressive.

The beautiful west-facing façade of Notre Dame. In the foreground, you can see the crowds gathered to see the results of the renovation. Though lines were long, the wait to enter the building wasn’t actually all that bad.
As a result of the post-fire restoration, the church’s interior is bright and clean. The cleaning process brought out the beauty of the sand-colored stone, which provides quite a contrast to the darker pre-fire appearance.
The meticulousness of the cleaning really brought out the church’s interior details.
The rose window in the church’s southern transept. In the bright afternoon sunlight, the church interior was absolutely luminous.

Paris is of course always beautiful but it is particularly beautiful in the sunshine, and on Saturday there was a full day of bright spring sunshine. I took advantage of the pleasant weather for an extended walk across the city to see many of its most famous sites.

The iconic Paris photograph, depicting the Eiffel Tower viewed from the East, looking West.
The reverse picture, viewing the Eiffel Tower from the Palais de Chaillot, across the Seine, looking East.
The Arc de Triomphe. This shot doesn’t do justice to the traffic surrounding the monument.
The Place de la Concorde, with the Luxor Obelisk at the center.
The central fountain in the Jardin du Tuileries.
The Western end of the Île de la Cité, viewed from the Pont des Arts.
The Palais du Luxembourg, viewed from the Jardin du Luxembourg.

More Pictures of Paris

Flowering trees in the Jardin du Palais Royal.
Even though it has 48 years since the Centre Pompidou first opened, its appearance — particularly given where it is located, in central Paris — is still striking. Opinions still differ over whether its design is daring or an eyesore.
L’île Saint-Louis in the afternoon sunshine.
The Canal Saint-Martin
Place des Voges

The Pantheon viewed in the evening light.

There is the old saying, usually attributed to Oscar Wilde, that when good Americans die, they go to Paris. Without respect to what may be true for eternity, I certainly can think of few better ways to spend a day than walking across Paris in the spring sunshine. For me, the experience never gets old. Departing from Paris always leaves me with an urge to return to the city, as soon as I can.