Paris, the City of Light has been Europe’s center of cultural grandeur and one of the most important centers for global business in the world. When we speak of Paris, we immediately conjure romantic images of an era gone by. We think of the majesty it once held as the French aristocracy attempted to keep up with the likes of Britain, Spain, and even Portugal as they heading the colonization of the new world. Others may think instead of the allure the city once held for its prominent contributions to the world of the arts including drama, painting, literature, music, fashion, and even architecture and landscape. I however think that although Paris is indeed one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and perhaps even one of the great wonders of the worlds, by today’s standards it is a city that parallels the vast diversity exemplified in other major global cities like New York City, and Barcelona and unfortunately, as a practical observer of the global community, I do not see the magic that others see in Paris. Yes, I do agree that the Parisian way of life coupled with its political, intellectual, and cultural contributions to the global market has earned it regardless of the its flow of influence, the title of a major player in the world economy. It is therefore easy to recognize why for centuries, the French language has remained one of "The Official" international languages of diplomacy. Today, beyond its high culture, political, and economic place on the world stage, Paris is as many other great cities in the world, an amazing melting-pot of ethnic communities rich in their own historical contributions to the great nation of France. For generations, Paris’ incredibly diverse population has fostered a vast interest from intellectuals seeking a heaven for their innovations. In fact before the war, the world-famous Café de Flore in Saint-Germain-des-Prés located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, became a meeting-point of artists of all disciplines such as painters like Picasso and Giacometti, other surrealist geniuses such Aragon, Breton, Apollinaire would often gather as well. In addition to filmmakers, writers, and even philosophers such as Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir also met here freely over a drink to collaborate. After the war, the entire district of Saint-Germain-des-Près had a facelift and a revival of sorts and so it became one of the most sought after venues for musicians of jazz such as miles Davies, Boris Vian, and even Juliette Gréco. The sudden influx of night life and attention made it a very desirable and fashionable place where you could see and be seen. During the post war era, Paris became a Mecca for people who felt discriminated against or otherwise persecuted in other parts of the world due to their race, color or even political views. In fact members of the French Communist Party like Arthur Koestler, Ernest Hemingway, Truman Capote, Lawrence Durrel sought and found comfort and shelter in the Café de Flore. The café’s atmosphere was synonymous with safety, protection, and even relief so much so that anyone could feel freedom to be themselves and even express their opinions without deprecations. Other Neighborhoods such as Belleville or La Goutte d’Or showcase the many subcultures that contribute to the Parisian diversity. As an example at any given point you can come across people from China, Southeast Asia, Africa, and many others and the reason is that France was adamant about colonizing the world as early as the 1600s. Although they were successful at it for some time, in the middle of the 1700s France lost 2 of their largest acquisitions India and Canada to the British crown. However, they did attempt for a second time and in the early 1800s Louis Philippe persuaded and successfully acquired Algeria, in addition by the end of the 1800s Napoleon III was also successful in obtaining power over Cochin China in Southeast Asia. As part of the new wave of imperialism France amassed such a great empire with some sixty million people. “A hallmark of the French colonial project in the late 19th century and early 20th Century was the civilizing mission (mission civilisatrice), the principle that it was Europe's duty to bring civilization to benighted peoples. As such, colonial officials undertook a policy of Franco-Europeanization in French colonies, most notably French West Africa. Africans, who adopted French culture, including fluent use of the French language and conversion to Christianity, were granted equal French citizenship, including suffrage. Later, residents of the "Four Communes" in Senegal were granted citizenship in a program led by the Afro-French politician Blaise Diagne”. A variety of ethnic neighborhoods or ghettos can be found walking down rue Belleville were you can experience a mixture of cultural delicacies at every corner. On my recent visit to Paris, I met a colleague’s sister who has lived in Paris most of her life and she mentioned to me that a similar to life in New York, one can observe everywhere in Paris ethno-centric enclaves. In the 13th Arrondissement, the district of Strasbourg-St Denis is considered the “go to” place if you are interested in island “fare”; meaning that many Caribbean islanders from Martinique, Guadeloupe, St. Martin and even Jamaica live and work in this area. Not only can get excellent food, you can even get dreadlocks! In this area you can also find the “Passage Brady” which is a street that is exclusive to Indian cultures including food, music, and fashion to name a few. Another great ethno-centric are in the center of the city is called Le Marais, this area is well known for its diverse clubs, bars, cafés, and even modern clothing and furniture stores. It is evident that within the city’s limits, Paris can nowadays proudly exhibit the traces of two thousand years worth of colonization of many civilizations. Many of such colonies have taken advantage of the benefits afforded to them by French colonization. As it turns out, nationals from those countries were given almost automatically French citizenship and so many of them decided to try their luck by relocating to France. “French law made it easy for thousands of colons, ethnic or national French from former colonies of North and East Africa, India and Indochina to live in mainland France. It is estimated that 20,000 colons were living in Saigon in 1945. 1.6 million European pieds noirs migrated from Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco.[7] In just a few months in 1962, 900,000 French Algerians left Algeria in the most massive relocation of population in Europe since World War II. In the 1970s, over 30,000 French colons left Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge regime as the Pol Pot government confiscated their farms and land properties. In November 2004, several thousand of the estimated 14,000 French nationals in Ivory Coast left country after days of anti-white violence”.[8] During my recent visit to Paris, I met a friend whose family had migrated to France from Cameroon over 25 years ago. When I asked her why they had decided to migrate to France she explained that since they already spoke French in her country, it just seemed natural especially since her family had other friends that had done the same thing. This story of course is the same for many immigrants the world over. I was able to understand her family’s story and assimilate the information very well because it touched on a very personal experience for me. Around 1975, in much of the same way as my friend Oyinade (Oyen), my family began to migrate from Puerto Rico the US in search of a better, brighter future. Unlike my friend Oyen, my family and I did not know the language or the culture of our new homeland and so this created a little hesitation on my part. I was however, rather excited about of all the possibilities and so here I am today. Not only have I become an American in every sense, I pride myself in being so, and in being able to share my story with many people around the word whose families took the risk in search of prosperity and became immigrants in a new land. In conclusion, Paris the great “City of Lights” is not only a cultural Mecca due to vast array of entertainment options that make it one of the world’s major global destinations for tourists, but also a fantastic melting pot of what I like to call citizen’s of the world; the people who have made Paris what it is today.