Ahhhh, Halloween and the French. Kind of a mismatch. I’ll give them credit, hey have tried to make a go of it (well, candy companies and Disney have tried to earn a euro off of it), but it never really has taken off as hoped. This all started in the late 90s, but suffice it to say the French aren’t really into carving gords into goofy or scary faces, or going door to door begging for des bonbons. The children do dress up, sometime around the 31st (not always on the exact day, you never know), and some may come around their apartment building or neighborhood to show off their costume before heading to a small “‘Alloveen” party at a friend’s house, but nothing like you see in the U.S.

However…if you happen to be in Paris this Halloween, which falls on a Friday, you’re in luck. Pourquoi? Well, Friday Night Fever is a weekly roller skating/inline skating event where tens of thousands of skaters (we’re talking up to 25,000) take to the streets of Paris for a 3 hour skate. This Friday night you will easily see costumes added to the mix of fleeting skaters. Be aware, the French tend to stick to the traditional ghost/vampire/witch costume so there probably won’t be a lot of variety, but it will be REAL fun to see 25,000 of these whiz through the streets of Paris.

Friday Night Fever begins at 10:00 p.m. at Montparnasse and takes 3 hours. If you can’t participate, just line the Boulevard St. Germain sometime after 10 and watch the parade, it’s huge fun.
For more info, check out Pari-roller.com.