i hate la defense just like i hate neuilly sur seine, and as they are right next to each other, they would seem to be quite avoidable. but i have friends in neuilly, and sometimes i have to go to la defense. my old company had its siege there, so everytime something official needed to be signed, or money received, i had to haul myself out the west, to the part of the city whose existance i would otherwise be able to completely ignore. so, saturday was one of those days, and after getting up at the obscene hour of 4:30 am, i found myself at la defense. there was nothing i could do about it. so i wandered around and took advantage of the free wifi that is everywhere in the zone. i emailed people. i took photos. i waited for phone calls. i wondered how a country could produce such a sucessful and dynamic economic zone, just on the other side of paris from massive arab and black ghettos, and how certain companies could thrive in a stifling business enviornment with absurd contract laws and zero flexability. yet, it would appear that all of these realities can in fact coexist i france. i have no explanation for it.