She still keeps the moving fragility of adolesence but already posses the indefinable aura of true vamps. At 17 years old, Vanessa definitively proved that she has the makings of an immense star, and no longer does anyone think of disputing the talent which she imposes with a grinning and courageous determi-nation. Not satisfied to collect successes with the Top 50, the young singer appeared in her first film, Noce Blanche, as an exceptional actress in a role which was full of obstacles. The public was not deceived and reserved a triumph for her. The grand cinema family decreed to her the most deserved of rewards: the Cesar for Best Young Female Hope. For Paris Match, Gainsbourg, the dark angel, interviews Vanessa, the Lolita, for whom he writes new songs. The meeting occurs in the bar of the luxurious Parisian hotel Raphael. Gainsbourg has a drink, Vanessa lunches. Serge Gainsbourg: I will never forget our first meeting... Two modest people face-to-face... The more intimidated of either of us... Vanessa Paradis: Was me... S.G.: No! V.P.: I arrived at your house, the grand museum, and I did not say anything for one hour. My eyes were wide, my jaw was dropped. S.G.: But it was me, too, you surprised me. Your producer had us listen to your album's music. Nothing to criticize. Good job. In the beginning, I was to write the words of one or two songs, and at the end of the hour, you had me: I had to write all the lyrics. Vanessa-Gainsbarre, the duo of the year! To tell you the truth, I was hooked the first time I heard you on the radio. I sensed immediately that there was something in your voice, something that makes one recognize a singer in only ten seconds. And when you purr in English, well... V.P.: It's normal. At seven years old, I already sang in English! (Laughs.) I repeated phonetically the songs that I heard. That doesn't mean anything, really, but just to say I didn't have a bad accent: some people believed my sounds were the real lyrics... S.G.: And at school, you defended yourself? V.P.: I wasn't a bad student but, after "Joe le Taxi," I had the feeling that there was nothing there for me anymore. I continued to attend to make my mother happy, but last year, I told myself it wasn't worth the trouble anymore. S.G.: I too stopped there. I didn't like the injustice; there was a teacher who really stand me. V.P.: Me, I have only one teacher who I remember fondly. He could speak to us whereas the others considered us lower than ground. I forgot all that the first time I entered a recording studio. It's beautiful, a studio full of tension when the hours get longer and longer. It's all between us, between people who chose to be together and whole like each other, and nothing else counts. You don't know anymore if it's day or night. Often, it's night and I like that. I like to live during the night. I never fall asleep before 3 a.m. S.G.: You are not a mouse but a bat. V.P.: I walk about, I gossip, I listen to music, I play ma-jong. S.G.: That, that's a game of a "Lolita-schoolgirl," to use a neologism I don't trust a bit! V.P.: What is it, for you, a "Lolita-schoolgirl"? S.G.: Romantic. A bud that's yet to flower. No one knows if Vanessa will become a nettle or a rose with thorns... V.P.: Mystery... I am at an age where everything's ambiguous: for some, I'm still a small girl, for others, a woman. An idiot or one who understands a lot. I listen more. I'm armoured. S.G.: Careful with armour! That can make one insensitive, becoming not too vulnerable. Our strength, it's our weakness. V.P.: Anyway, when people are hostile to me, I sense it immediately. It's in their glance. There's something, negative waves in the air perhaps... S.G.: Great instinct! You already understood so much, Miss Paradis! V.P.: There's one thing I know for sure: in life, it's not "everyone is beautiful, everyone is nice." Never. S.G.: What affect does being 18 have on you? V.P.:Well, I'm not 18, I'm 17, and it happens to everybody. I feel neither stronger nor stupider than someone who is forty years old or fourteen. In any case, I'm not afraid of growing old. One day I will have wrinkles, like Katherine Hepburn and Simone Signoret. They are sublime women, don't you think? S.G.: I prefer youth, but it's true that aging occurs... V.P.: One can't remain a small girl all her life. I don't like for the sky to always be blue. It's necessary that it rains. I adore the rain. Not drizzles, no, but the storms, storms where the rain falls in large drops. I went on a trip to Louisiana and there was a sublime storm. It's a formidable memory. S.G.: One of the songs on the album will be called "Hey! Mister Rain." In life, you seek out storms? V.P.: I find that, from time to time, it's necessary to clash with the one you love. To hate a man so deeply for five minutes, that makes life the more merrior. Afterwards, the reconciliation is marvelous. S.G.: Up to now, it find that you control your destiny very well. Without fault. And yet, they will watch for you, the aggressive ones, the malicious ones, the jealous one... You have only your sensitivity to resist the pressure... V.P.: According to my little experience, the secret to it, is to let it slide. I know that, in the street, every time I go out, I will be looked down as a bitch or a little whore. It's terrible but it's so. In the beginning, when I was fourteen years old, that upset me. Today, I have a reply ready: I smile my most beautiful smile. S.G.: You represent a bit the same phenomenon as Bardot. She was very attacked, also, by women who had the idea that she was going to steal their man. To be a woman, it's very hard. It's necessary to be a strapping man. V.P.: Especially when you are fifteen years old! In the beginning, I wanted to blame myself. And then I understood, the problem is in the heads of other people. But is it really necessary to go nuts, to treat a girl like a bitch because she's on the TV? I've known very difficult moments. There was hatred around me. I remember a TV show, two years ago, where the public started to throw things at me and make such a row that I was obliged to tap my foot to keep the tempo. I could no longer hear my playback. S.G.: And, at the same time, you sold a million copies! V.P.: Yes, it's that which was unheard of, this mixture of popularity and hatred. Even people my age who liked me did not dare to tell me. They were afraid of how they'd look in the eyes of their friends! S.G.: In the business, you also caused various factions... V.P.: Initially, it was believed that I was going to pass by like a meteor. Then there was the rejection, I was given the reputation of a weakling. Then, everything changed with Noce Blanche, my film. Those who regarded me as little more than a shit started to think a little better of me, and I believe that's the emptiest thing I've ever seen in my life. With the Victoire of Music and now the Cesar, things become downright awkward. Those who applaud me now spat at me not so long ago. S.G.: There is also the pressure of the media. A paper went and said that you were pregnant... V.P.: I was delighted to learn of it! Now, to find out if you are pregnant or not, one doesn't have to take a test: it's enough to read about it in the paper! It's a considerable progress... It's no use getting upset about things like that. It's written and there's not to get out of it if not a laugh. S.G.: You don't have something against babies, right? V.P.: Of course not! I adore them. Across from my house, on the same floor, there's a maternity and I look out the window all day. It's a marvellous idea, but for later. I already didn't have an adolescence, "Joe le taxi" took it from me. So, I would like to have the life of a young adult before becoming a mother. S.G.: Do you have only enemies? V.P.: No, of course not. I had very difficult moments after "Joe le taxi." But now, all is well and I'm very happy to see my work recognized. I hope to remain in the hearts of people for a long time. S.G.: And if you go no further? V.P.: That would be a grave matter! S.G.: Don't worry. In any event, I will take you along to Maxim's, me in a penguin suite, you in a grand evening dress. Gainsbourg leaves to go defend his last film, Stan the Flasher. Vanessa finishes her eggs a la neige. V.P.: Serge, he's an extraordinary guy. He makes me laugh and he moves me. His eyes shine. For me, he's a little boy.