At the Foot of the Arc de Triomphe: A Lesson That “Common Sense Depends on Where You Are”

In this episode, I reflect on an unexpected discovery beneath the Arc de Triomphe.After returning my rental car, I stopped by the monument and noticed what looked like absolute chaos — cars honking, cutting across lanes, and seemingly ignoring all rules. But soon I realized it wasn’t reckless driving at all — the traffic rule itself is reversed here.Unlike most roundabouts, the one at the Arc de Triomphe gives priority to cars entering from the outside, not those already inside.It made me think about how what seems “normal” in one place can be completely different somewhere else — and how easily our assumptions can fail us.A quiet reminder from the streets of Paris: even in the middle of chaos, there’s always a kind of logic hiding underneath.