The M8 billiard hall, in the Belleville neighborhood, Paris 19th arrondissement, October 24, 2025. ARTHUR GAU FOR LE MONDE
After 7 pm at the bar in M8, you have to put your name down and wait for a table to open up. On a Friday night, in the dimly lit hall tucked away in a passage in the Belleville neighborhood of Paris's 19th arrondissement, different groups of people faced off in billiards. At the blue table, two friends from Nepal played game after game in near silence. They didn't go easy on each other, and at first glance, they were the best players in the room. Their pints of beer sat patiently along the edge of the table.
On the other side of the hall, laughter erupted from the purple table, occupied by four young creatives working in fashion and contemporary art. For them, M8 has become something of a headquarters – the ideal spot to celebrate a birthday or just kill time. The group made no secret of their skill level: they're terrible. And they were not likely to improve; the pints going down as quickly as the new games began. The R'n'B hits from the 2000s were a crowd-pleaser. Transported back to more carefree childhood days, the players at the purple table sang along to Ne-Yo and Mariah Carey.
