Café l'Agricole

The center of Nevers is a somewhat nebulous grouping of the historical landmarks-- la cathédrale and le palais ducal--, the palais de justice (the courthouse), and le parc Roger Salengro (large public park). Joining the first cluster with the large park is a central square called la place Carnot. In this square are a few banks, the Chamber of Commerce, and the marché (market) that happens on Saturday mornings in a covered market space. At the very center of the square is a fairly large café et brasserie (coffee shop and small restaurant) called Café l'Agricole. As it occupies the middle of this square, it joins the old and new sides of Nevers, the renaissance and the romantic. In a town square with two other small cafés, it is still easy to pick out Café Ag, as we call it, marked by a small fountain and some eclectic topiaries. The café becomes the central meeting place not just because of its terrace, but also because it's open until 11pm, it opens on Sunday, and it is the only place other than McDonald's in Nevers that has free wi-fi. At half a kilometer from la gare (the train station), Café Agricole certainly attracts foot traffic, high schoolers, businessmen at midday, and people looking to get out of their house on a Sunday afternoon.

I looked high and low for some of the history of Café Ag. Why would I have thought to do this? Inside the Palais Ducal is a small photography exhibit featuring photos of Nevers around the turn of the century. In these, we can clearly see the Place Carnot and the sign for Café Agricole. So it has existed in some form for at least 100 years, we can suppose. But nothing inside the café, where wi-fi, flat screen TVs, and fancy coffee drinks fill the space, would betray the la signification historique du lieu (the historical importance of the place).

Stuck, thus, in the present, I can but relate some observations about this central hangout of Nevers. First, it doesn't attract any of the town's derelict population. I think the somewhat arrogant waitstaff keeps large dogs away from the café. This waitstaff is not aggressive, just a bit self-important. If a person comes in to wait for a friend to join, it's easy enough to either order something or let the waiter that the friend will arrive shortly. However, once the friend comes, it might be difficult to get the waiter's attention to commander (order). Also, unlike most french cafés, the waiters often ask their customers to régler avant (pay before) they have finished their drinks. Of course, this ensures that, during a busy time, the café doesn't get stiffed, but it is somewhat off-putting. But this isn't meant to be a critique of the café, rather a view of what café life in Nevers can be like.

Café Ag is such a convenient place to meet that it's a hangout for everyone. Françoise's daughter Clémence, who grew up in Nevers and just left this school year to study in Versailles, loves to come back and meet her friends at Café Ag. They all sit outside smoking cigarette after cigarette, their young, french lungs impervious to health defects, or at least defiant of them. For her birthday, her friends all surprised her there, singing loud choruses of joyeux anniversaire. When she wants to go out to dinner but doesn't want to get to the restaurant too early, she heads there to have an apératif (cocktail drink). With my friends, Café Ag is the most central location. Of course, we all consider whether it's entirely worth the 1.10 euro for a café or the 2.20 for a chocolat chaud (hot chocolate), but it is nice, like I said to get out of the house sometimes. Although the ambiance is not that of En Apar-thé-- see blog posts from October-- it is a prime people-watching location. We go to be forgotten, since the loud ambiance covers our English conversation, or to forget some of Nevers, since the dark and obscured windows don't give a very full panorama of the city.

One of my favorite parts of Café Agricole is the way people put themselves on display when they go out. Since Nevers doesn't have much of a club or café "scene" to speak of, Café Ag becomes the de facto place to strut one's stuff. I can remember when it was warm and we'd meet up for evenings on the terrace, and all of the strangers and their awkward ways of approaching us, attempting to get our number, or creatively leaving theirs. I have heard a particularly charming story about a man in a shiny speedo or boxer-briefs parading around, conversing with mixed groups of people he didn't know. In the winter, people are generally more reserved, but the other weekend, we were seated next to a couple that was shamelessly canoodling one another, even turning to us to say Ne soyez pas inquiéts, c'est l'amour ! (Don't worry, it's just love!). People bring their children for outings they haven't coached them for, struggling to keep them seated with their Orangina or hot chocolate. Teenagers play music from their cell phones and get in fights about best friends or boyfriends. For all the candor of the french, the propriety and the concern with which they approach outings in good society, Café Agricole seems to be a place where people feel comfortable enough to forget about all of that, acting more relaxed and more like the way they would act in their own home.

As the place where we go to have candid conversations, confused reflections about life, musings about the future, and un peu de mal de pays (a bit of homesickness), but also the place where we happily unwind after a long week, a long day, or even a long morning of class or life in Nevers, Café Agricole has a place etched in posterity. But then again, it never had a chance to do much else, as it was the first place I knew in Nevers and will proabably be the last place I have a coffee before taking the train away from the cité ducale.