At the “Jeuxdi” events at the Longchamp racecourse in Paris, one does not have to be old to be a regular. Basile and Andréa (who requested anonymity), 20 and 19 years old, have been coming to this Thursday series of trendy after-work parties, which combine horse races and DJ sets, since they were in high school. From their perch at the top of the racecourse’s stands, they are familiar with the curious ritual that plays out below every time the horses take to the track.
Despite the umbrellas that were present on this gloomy Thursday in June, the crowd of young people, who all shouted encouragement for the horses they had chosen, had tried to respect the dress code: all-white outfits. That was no problem for Basile, who hails from the 8th arrondissement of Paris. He already had the perfect outfit ready – a white linen shirt and trousers, the same as what he would wear for his summer white parties in the Mediterranean seaside resort town of Saint-Tropez, “but without the sea, and in the rain,” he said mockingly.
The pair, both students in preparatory classes at the Saint-Michel-de-Picpus private school who were waiting on the results of their business school entrance exams, said they came for “the adrenaline of the races and the DJ part after dark,” as Basile explained. Andréa, who is from the affluent western Paris suburb of Saint-Cloud, had seen many of her former classmates from Sainte-Marie de Neuilly high school (in the equally posh suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine) there, “even my ex, last time,” she added, pulling a disappointed face. Versailles, Rueil-Malmaison, Levallois-Perret: Among the list of partygoers’ hometowns, the well-heeled western suburbs and arrondissements of Paris are well represented.
You have 81.78% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.
