The dead city is slowly awakening, but there is still an element of dread in the air. The grand return from the summer holidays \u201d\u201d la rentr\u00c3\u00a9e \u201d\u201d is preoccupying France, but anxiety abounds about what exactly is being re-entered.<\/p>\n
La rentr\u00c3\u00a9e is a new beginning, as if the new school year provides new chances for everyone here to reform, renew, replenish and re-engage. People make resolutions, as at New Year\u2019s, to be thinner, faster, smarter, better.<\/p>\n
But this year, the public mood remains sour, with optimism hard to find and open worries about inflation, purchasing power and the position of France in what seems a suddenly less stable world.<\/p>\n
The French are like \u201ceternal children who return to school,\u201d\u009d said Alix Girod de l\u2019Ain, a columnist at Elle magazine. \u201cThere is a sacralization of vacation,\u201d\u009d since nearly everyone takes August off, with la rentr\u00c3\u00a9e as \u201can important moment because we officially change our rhythm and enter a new cycle.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n