The Situationists paradoxically combined a revolutionary—even a utopian—concern,to create an entirely new Paris of the future, with a strong conservationist streak, endlessly condemning the destruction of old streets and protesting the bureaucratic ‘modernization’ of the city. For instance, the destruction of the Rue Sauvage in the 13th Arrondissement was specific­ally mourned in Potlatch. Later, the destruction of the old market area around Les Halles, to create a shopping centre and an art museum, was fiercely attacked by Debord. When I co-organized the Situationist exhibition at the Beaubourg, Debord indicated that he would not be able to attend because he had sworn never to set foot in the building. First, it bore the hated name of Pompidou, the accursed foe of 68, and, second, it was the poisoned fruit of the destruction of the previous huddle of street and café life, beloved by Debord and his comrades.

A number of areas of Paris, on the other hand, were singled out for positive attention. Arrondissement 7 was favourably invoked—the district around and behind Les Invalides. The Square des Missions Étrangères, near the junction of Rue de Babylone and Boulevard Raspail, was specifically recommended. 36 Rue des Morillons was praised. This could be the abbatoir, according to my map. It would be easy to carry out a Situationist tour of Paris, because Debord’s two folding maps of the city specifically pick out the areas worth wandering in and indicate with bright red arrows possible directions for taxi journeys between them. Areas of the city suggested for special attention and research were the Butte-aux-Cailles, near the Place d’Italie; the ‘Continent of Contrescarpe’, presumably the area round the Place de la Contrescarpe; the Morgue; Aubervilliers, just outside the city limits to the north; and the Désert de Retz. In this sense, we can see that the apparent call made by the Situationists for ‘total’ revolution needs to be somewhat nuanced. While social relations should be totally transformed, the best of the past should be honoured and preserved. In fact, in many of Debord’s texts, there is a strongly elegiac note and an intense involvement with the past, not only its struggles and failed revolutions, but also its literature and its monuments.

Peter Wallen, Situationists and Architecture, i New Left Review 8, 2001.

Är inte detta en mycket mer sympatisk Debord - en utforskare av det gömda och bortglömda, en revolutionär melankoliker - än den tröttsamme skådespelskritiker han så ofta reduceras till? Jag ser gärna ett visst mått av elegisk konservatism i min situationism.