European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 9, 1963, Darmstadt, Hesse We mib evolution in France n. Youthful or. Yvo solent Laurent. New mod by North american new paper Alliance Twe latest victim of French a flu j. Ence in that Una qulious character or Gate keeper. This peculiarly French Init Sutlon Lookas though it is on its Way out. With its passing also will go an entire aspect of la foam it hns been known Here for a Century and a half not to mention a never ending topic of dully conversation. For frenchmen and for Elton residents alike the concierge and her Little foibles Are invariably a focal Point of everyday existence. Fewer and fewer persons con be found willing to take on the onerous and ill paid Job. Purls is sold to be Short at least 15.000concierge. An increasing number of mod Ern apartment buildings Are being de signed to do away with the Post substituting North american style janitors or charwoman who Don t live on the premises. Knowledgeable students of the French social scene say the beginning of the end was the Concession wrested by Trade Union a couple of years ago giving them the right to take off Sun Days. Prior to that concierge were sup posed to be on duty 24-hours a Day seven Days a week or to provide a satisfactory substitute at their own the very fact they made this de Mand indicated their Oldt me professional Pride was waning. As elderly concierge Point out at the slightest encouragement the Young ones Aren t like the concicr0b is not of course a Mere janitor or building superintendent but something More. Her loge is the nerve enter of the apartment building. For any concierge Worth her Salt tenants Are no merely tenants but either friends or enemies. A Ca i ref a who has decided usually for obscure reasons Best known to her self that she is your foe can make life a misery. On the other hand parisians fortunate enough to have Friendly Cottier pm count themselves among the blessed Onearth. It is True that a concierge who likes you will do almost anything for is Little enough pleasure in t concierge career. Frequently they Are unpaid and must live on tips they of court pay no rent. Even when they receive regular salary it is Seldom More than the equivalent of $30 per month. Their accommodations Are invariably crowded and anything but private since things Are so arranged that the concierge can easily be everyone who passes in and out of the building. In some older buildings it la impossible to enter unless the concierge releases a rope or Chain from within. In thesty circumstances almost Al Concha get Are women. Husbands must work at outside jobs. But fewer and fewer women can a found who Are willing to work the Long hours and do the menial work like feeding Furnace and scrubbing hallways. They prefer to Uke Assembly lines in jobs in factories and place their children in Day nurseries. Younger women also say they Don t much can for the gossipy. Inbred kind of life a leads. For Many years after the War the Gen eral housing shortage meant there Wra always women ready to be concierge in order to put a roof Over their families. But now housing is getting easier to apartment dwellers Are of two minds about the threatened demise of the system. It would fee very strange not having a Conner Gir one of them said. On the other hand a Little privacy would a baby Boom b Chan los franc into a Young Woolry. The stars and stapes 11
