by Christos Zabounis
“Paris is very much on the rise (…) a host of new things are happening every day (…) Eight Greek ‘personalities’ living in the City of Light and making the most of it. Eight Greeks from different backgrounds and fields, who represent us admirably in the French capital, whether through their talent, their work, their personal charm or, at the very least, their dreams.” This was the opening passage of the article Les Grecs, published in 1986 in the monthly magazine Ta Prosopa, edited by Aris Davarakis. The first to take centre stage was ERRIKOS PETILLON. The name was printed in Latin characters, reflecting his father’s Argentinean origins. His father was a successful businessman with Greek roots. Errikos had arrived in Paris with big dreams. He had settled into an apartment on Avenue Matignon — the equivalent of Herodou Attikou in Athens. In a relatively short time, he had become something of a young prince of tout Paris. He was not a man of many words, yet his gaze had a magnetic quality. I had crossed paths with him during our nights out at the clubs of the time and had witnessed firsthand the attraction he exerted on women. He was irresistible. When I returned to Greece, our conversations made it clear that he had developed a dependence on drugs. As he described it to me, his financial situation was dire. He was living on borrowed money. Eventually, I lost touch with him and followed the course of his life through police reports. Seeing him the other day, climbing the steps of the Thessaloniki Courthouse, I was moved by the sight of a dignified, well-presented man whom, had I not known his story, I would have found sympathetic on appearance alone. Sic transit gloria mundi…
