‘Paris Beatniks Harmless’

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31449, 16 August 1967, Page 5

‘Paris Beatniks Harmless ’

(N. Z.P. A.-Reuter —Copyright) PARIS.

Beatniks, the vagabond tourists of various nationalities who are a familiar sight on tfie Left Bank of Paris, are accepted somewhat philosophically by the police in the capital.

They do not seem to be drug-crazed, violent or politically dangerous, say the police in a report describing the vagrant community as “a seasonal phenomenon since 1963.”

They do not seem to do anyone much harm, though they look scruffy, smell a little, and occasionally stage impromptu concerts to raise a few francs for a meal.

The report says that it would be difficult to judge the actual number of beatniks in Paris at any given moment without an unjustifiably widespread police check. “Because of their nomadic habits and the influence of climatic conditions, any given figures are extremely variable,” the report says. But an approximate head count for statistical purposes shows that of 1000 investigated, 818 were male, including 537 minors, and 182 female, including 142 minors. Of these, 509 were French, and 491 foreigners. Their average age was 19 or 20 years, and 48 per cent of them were from broken homes, had only one parent, or were disowned by their families.

Of the foreigners, 79 were from West Germany, 78 were Swedish, 46 Danes, 45 Britons, 44 Dutch, 34 Americans, 30 Italians and 28 Algerians. The rest were from various other countries.

As to their intellectual prowess, the report observes: "According to one quite widespread belief, the beatnik circle is supposed to be the centre'of lofty intellectual exchanges. The lesson of the figures modifies that judgment.

“Forty-four per cent of these individuals acknowledged having finished or abandoned all studies. “Among them, 60 per cent went only to primary school, and only 12 per cent claimed to have gone on to secondary school. None held a baccalaureat (the French school leaving examination) or equivalent diploma.” The beatniks are not politically-inspired, apart from joining in very localised demonstrations, nor are they part of an organisation. They appear to rebel against all constraint. One report says that a few acts of vandalism have been committed, some young fugitives have tried to hide among the beatniks and 34 minors, deemed in moral danger, have appeared before a juvenile court. Fifty-six foreigners were refused admission into France and two were deported. Little Drugging “The use of drugs seems hardly present among the beatniks,” the report says. “Two minors are known to have used them. One took nuberene and the other marijuana. No drug trafficking has been uncovered.

“Their occupations being a little like those of vagabonds, their means of existence are generally as modest and as hazardous.

“They get a bit of money begging, doing odd jobs in Les Halles (the main fruit, meat and vegetable market), improvising concerts for tourists or posing for amateur photographers . . Declaring that the problems

posed by the beatniks are not news, the report adds: “Each generation has known them. They only emerge in a different context: the opening of frontiers, the speed of transport, and the communication of ideas make their fashions international.

“With various names, the young rebels are present and circulate in every country.” The report sounds a note of anxiety about the “Proves”, who sprang up in the Netherlands. It says that in March of this year, there was a clash in the Latin quarter of Paris, on the Left Bank of the Seine, when “the forces of order were compelled to intervene to disperse a group of about 50 ‘Provos’ starting incidents.”