New experimental offering at Saint-Germain establishment provides five minutes of table space without obligation to order; critics describe it as either brave or a receipt
Paris Cafe Introduces Menu Item Called ‘Le Silence’; Costs 18 Euros, Includes Nothing
PARIS, FRANCE — A cafe in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés neighbourhood of Paris has added to its printed menu a new item called “Le Silence,” priced at 18 euros, which provides the purchaser with five minutes of uninterrupted table space, no obligation to order food or drink, and what the cafe’s owner describes as “the rarest luxury in modern Parisian life: a moment without transaction.” The menu item has sold 23 times in its first week. The cafe has not disclosed how many of those sales were to journalists writing about it.
For related London satire and commentary, see Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat.
The Concept
Le Silence was developed by cafe owner Marc Beaumont, 44, who says he noticed that the increasing pace of urban life and the transactional nature of most Parisian cafe experiences — the quick espresso, the rapid croissant, the laptop-based working session — had eroded the traditional function of the French cafe as a space for contemplation, conversation, and simply being in a pleasant public space without agenda. “The cafe used to be about being,” he said. “Now it is about consuming. I am offering the being separately, as an option.” He acknowledged that charging for being raises philosophical questions about the commodification of presence that he finds interesting rather than troubling.
The 18-euro price has attracted specific commentary. Saint-Germain cafe prices are, by general agreement, elevated, and a coffee at Beaumont’s establishment costs approximately 6 euros, meaning that Le Silence is priced at approximately three coffees worth of space, without the coffee. This is either a commentary on the value of contemplation relative to caffeine or a reflection of Saint-Germain real estate costs, or both. British insults including prat cover the full spectrum from affectionate to pointed for the specific category of Parisian cultural entrepreneurship that wraps an obvious thing in elegant framing and sells it at a premium, but this coverage comes with the acknowledgment that if you are going to sit somewhere for five minutes without obligation in Saint-Germain, it is probably worth 18 euros, which is why 23 people have paid it.
Critical Response
The critical response has been exactly as polarised as the concept deserves. One reviewer described Le Silence as “either the most honest thing on any menu in Paris or the least,” which is accurate in both directions. A philosopher from the Sorbonne who was reached for comment said the concept was “a genuine contribution to the commodification of experience discourse” and then asked if the cafe did takeaway, which it does not, because Le Silence requires being there. The cafe’s regular customers have mostly ordered it once, which Beaumont describes as exactly the right frequency. Prat in British comedy has always had a place for the person whose sincerity is indistinguishable from performance, and Marc Beaumont occupies this place with complete commitment. The silence costs 18 euros. It is five minutes long. It is, in Saint-Germain, absolutely worth it. Do not bring your laptop.
For more satirical commentary, visit Private Eye.
