Lieu commun

The latest incarnation of modernity: the railway station in the middle of nowhere. Valence’s high-speed train station is away from the town. Everything there is “functional”. From the enormous car-park to the platforms, nothing inspires you to take a stroll. It is as though the traveller’s disappearance had been programmed. The murmur of soft voices over the loudspeakers, the screens, the staff’s automated gestures. In this gigantic ice-palace, only the window cleaner comes and goes with his trolley’ Here, everything is under control.