Village Life
A self-contained district or community within a town or city, regarded as having features characteristic of village life.
It has taken me a while to write my first post about the Havas Lofts program and here’s why: I’ve been incredibly overwhelmed by this experience so far. Because I’m living and working in the beautiful city of Paris for a month? Sure - I wake up to the smell of French pastry every morning and get to walk past the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe on my way to work (more photographic gloating to come). But a huge part of it is the experience of working in a Havas village.
For starters, it’s not a village. It’s a freakin’ city! Situated in a western suburb of Paris called Puteaux, the Havas ‘village’ is a giant structure that holds several Havas companies and partners such as Socialise, Ecselis, 2MV, Havas Worldwide and Les Gaulois.
Think of a modern grey Hogwarts (sans wizards, witches and magic )– full of corridors, hidden passages and secret entrances. My first three mornings here were pretty traumatic; I managed to get lost and arrive in a different part of the office each time, convinced that my desk had moved of its own accord in order to humiliate me in front of my French counterparts (my inadequate grasp of the French language didn't help the situation).
Yet just like a ‘village’, it has its own little ecosystem:
Havas Transport: We have our very own bus! Yes people, every morning, I travel on the metro for a few stops before being picked up by the Havas media shuttle service to complete the final stage of the journey to and from work. And for those that like to travel in style to client meetings, there are Havas branded electric cars, manufactured by the Bolloré group, for your eco-friendly driving pleasure. People do actually use them!
Havas Food: Like all great and self-sustaining villages, there’s an endless food supply, the source of which is the enormous Havas café. Situated on the 1st floor, it offers a wide range of cuisine options for ridiculously cheap prices – 3 euros for a 3 course meal! Not missing EAT Chicken Pot Pie so much after all!
BONUS: You can buy a beer or wine in café at lunch – can’t help thinking this would be the best and worst thing to happen to the London Arena office.
And then, there are the attractions. I’m actually not referring to the standard of Havas men — although suffice to say, the French office rocks in that department! I’m actually talking about the stunning views from the office overlooking the River Seine , Eiffel tower and the newly opened Fondation Louis Vuitton building.
Working in such a huge structure definitely takes a bit of getting used to, but the French are making it work and I’m curious to see how London adapts to village life in 2016/7. However, for now, I’ll just concentrate on locating my desk…
Next installment: The Village People
