What is the importance of Paris as noted in the memoir, The Years (Ernaux)?

Paris is mentioned a few times in The Years, with different associations at the beginning of the book and towards the end. At the beginning, Ernaux writes indirectly that her generation's parents had spoken of Paris as of an immoral, exciting, utterly foreign place. From their own home in provincial France, Paris spoke of wartime, prostitution, night life, and other such dark elements. Yet, the younger generation, eager as it was to escape the hometown, would eventually think of Paris differently, The woman in the photographs eventually moves to a home in the Paris region with her family and finds it full of excitement, tourist destinations, and fun activities to do with the kids. Paris to her becomes a symbol for social mobility -- both at large and within her own lifetime.