Remains of our industrial past

High labor cost, price of real estate... When it comes to manufacturing products, a country like France can only compete in high-end industries (nuclear power, planes...) or in niche markets. This building is a very good example of this phenomenon. It's located in the very center of Paris (at rue du Louvre) and it used to belong to a huge post-war industrial group (Boussac-Saint Frères) that went bankrupt in the 70's. Workers used to actually make bâche there (protective coverings) which is today totally unthinkable since the price of this beautiful building is probably worth more than the profit that 50 workers could produce in a 100 years!

Counting the French!

There are precisely 65,7 million people in France (well there were in 2012). How do I know that? Because the French bureau of statistics (which is called INSEE - for National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies) counts the French every now and then. Before it used to be every 4 years and now it's every year, but only in certain areas (which they extrapolate afterwards I suppose). This year, in Paris, it's the 6th, 14th, 16th and 18th arrondissement. It's compulsory of course... I took this photo during a sort of Flashmob on the trocadero esplanade ;-) Totally unrelated of course.

Buy French!

You know how I like to support young entrepreneurs! Well I found two of them on my street yesterday... They opened a brand new shoe store (Thomaas & Nicolaas) where they sell French manufactured (or at least designed) shoes (which is really not common these days...). But the real plus of this store is that you will find there models that you won't see anywhere in the world like in chain stores! Besides, let me remind you that on this very same street, you can also visit another extraordinary shoe store that I've already featured on PDP. I wish them a lot of success!

Who "stole" Le Printemps?!

Here is a view of one of the buildings of Le Printemps, one of the major department stores that we have in Paris. Printemps means spring in French and from what I understand weather-wise it's not exactly spring in Paris at the moment (but it will improve for the picnic which is this Sunday at one o'clock, bla bla ;-)). Hence my title... But that's not all Le Printemps is also in the middle of a controversy here because it's currently being bought by Qatari investors and some people think that Qatar is buying a little too many things these days (including the very famous Paris soccer team...).  

Landing in Paris

I had to pick up a friend at Charles de Gaulle airport today and I took advantage of it to take this photo. Technically it is not Paris, but it's close enough! There are 3 airports around Paris (Charles de Gaulle, Orly and Le Bourget). Most of the traffic goes through Charles de Gaulle (88 million passengers in 2011), mostly from France and Europe (about 60%) and the rest from the rest of the world (North America accounts for roughly 10% of the traffic). If I judge from the crowd that was at the airport this morning, the tourist roundup has already started!

Remains of the past

In the past, France used to be a pretty industrial nation. But like many developed countries  - except Germany maybe -  we're constantly losing ground... Coincidentally, today I passed by the old factory of Renault (one of the major French car manufacturers) in Boulogne a very close suburb of Paris and the only thing that remains is... the facade that they keep as a proud testimony of the past! Of course, it would be unfair to let you believe that this is what's left of Renault, as it is now a large, pretty successful multinational group, but still...

The world's fifth largest economy?

This is not the prettiest picture you'll see on PDP I agree, but it's also Paris... I took it at Boulevard des Italiens, near the Opera, a pretty rich area. I could not help but stopping and taking this shot that looks like a scene from the 3rd world: someone sleeping on the sidewalk on the right, garbage cans that still wait to be picked up (at 10 am!)... (and yes, the famous Tenin's perspective LOL!). Isn't France supposed to be the 5th largest and wealthiest economy in the world? Is that a preview of what's ahead of us?

The most expensive avenue in Europe

The news came last Thursday after commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield released their annual study regarding the price of the rental value of the major shopping streets in the world : The Champs Elysées is the most expensive shopping street in Europe - and the 5th in the world - before New Bond street in London. It will cost you 7,364 euros per square meter per year if you plan to open a little shop around the corner down there! No wonder only big chain stores can afford it... After Abercrombie and Fitch, Tommy Hilfiger, H & M it will soon be the turn of Banana Republic and... Marks and Spencers (from the UK). BTW, I took this photo from the Arc de Triomphe, as you probably guessed already!

Repetto

Repetto is a real French landmark. The name comes from the founder, Rose Repetto, whose son, Roland Petit (who just passed away yesterday at 87), used to come back with injured feet from his classical dance lessons. In 1947 she then decided to make him dancing shoes, that would prevent the pain (as if?!). The famous Pointe and Ballerines were born. Soon, they became THE dancing shoes of the most famous dancers in the world. Now the brand has been repositioned, they sell all sorts of dancing equipment and regular shoes. They have several stores in Paris and many in the world. I took this photo at 36 rue de Passy, in the 16th arrondissement.

Les Soldes 2011

I don't know if the sales are an important event where you live, but I can tell you that in France it's a major one! The 2011 winter Soldes (sales) started yesterday morning (Wednesday) and no less than two Ministers (Christine Lagarde and Frédéric Lefebvre) gave the first Go this morning at 8 o'clock at the Galeries Lafayette and Printemps. FYI, there is a controversy whereas the Soldes should be feminine ("la" Solde) or masculine ("le" solde)... The correct gender is "le", but most people say "la". So if you're learning French and fight with genders, you should know that the French do too, sometimes ;-) BTW, I took this photo at rue de Passy, well known for its shops.

Working late

Who said the French don't work long hours?! For even if it's true that the legal number of work hours per week amounts to 35, most people work much longer than that. Besides, to remain synchronized with the "the rest of the world", a lot of French companies agreed with their employees that they would continue to work 40 hours a week and would be granted 12 to 15 extra days of holidays as a compensation. Worldwide comparisons must then be made on a yearly basis, but I have been unable to find reliable figures... FYI, I took this photo last evening at La Défense.

Looks

Two days ago, I attended the launch of a new Social Network (yes another one!) on a boat, right by the Eiffel Tower (you can see the Seine in the background of this photo). This new network is called Looknbe and its purpose is to allow people to exchange looks advice and tips. Among other things, you can for instance take a photo of the tie/gown you plan to wear for the day and ask "your network" if they think it matches your shirt or shoes! Silly?! That is what I thought before they actually presented t the business plan... What if tomorrow's Facebook was French? Anyway, of course, to attract media's attention they had a gimmick (Mr Migö in this photo) and I fell for it! After all things are pretty tense at the moment in Paris (lots of strikes and demonstrations due to the new law about retirement) so I thought a little humor would be welcome.

Tourists are back in Paris!

Yes! Ladies and Gentlemen... Tourists are said to be back in Paris - and in France in general. Well, we'll know for sure at the end of the year of course, but "they" say that due to the slight drop of the Euro, people from outside Euroland are more likely to come back. In 2009 "only" 74 million visitors had crossed our border (that is 6% less than in 2008) and among them -10% Americans and - 17% British! France still remained the #1 tourist destination in the world though! I took this shot near Montmartre (you can see the Carousel in the background) last Saturday and, believe me, it was full of tourists...

New telephone booth

If I tell you that Orange (ex France Telecom) is currently installing new public phones in the street (see a broader view on the making of), I'm sure you're going to laugh at me... And though that is what they are doing in some specific, touristic areas as an experiment. Why? Because these telephone booths have nothing to do with what the good old pay phones of "the past" used to be (including the first one, that was presented at the electricity exhibit in 1881!). This new model allows you to call, of course, but also to surf the web, find a restaurant/shop/theater... around the booth. Check this little video to see a demo. It's probably a good idea, but now that almost everyone has a mobile phone with Internet access I don't really think there will be much demand.

Housing crisis? Obviously...

I took this photo on the Champs Elysées. It would be funny if it weren't sad as the woman who begs crouched against this newsstand cannot see the cover story of the magazine on the ad that says "Real estate in Paris: the real prices...". I bet she does not care anyway, as she'd have to pay on average 6 500 € per square meter for an apartment. Check this site, if you're interested in buying some property in Paris, they have all the detailed prices per square meter for each address of Paris. (Sorry for the late posting, my mistake...).

Another victim of the Internet?

I just read in the plane a few days ago that the Rocky Mountain News, a Denver area newspaper was going to close down for good, a few months before its 150th anniversary. "Due to evolutions in the media business, the article said..." You bet! Everywhere in the world it's the same. I thought this shop would illustrate this downturn perfectly. I also thought to myself, "What would Gutenberg think if he could see that more than 500 years after his fabulous invention (he is said to have invented the printing process circa 1450), the ink has now turned virtual!?" FYI, I took this shot on rue de Savoie in the 6th arrondissement.

More than 2 million Parisians, and counting...

The news broke a couple of days ago, we finally know how many Parisians there are: precisely 2,201,000! The population is increasing, slightly but surely, (+ 77,000 more inhabitants now than in 1999, last time "they" counted). People in Paris also tend to be younger and younger (retirees prefer to leave Paris to go to the South) and as a result, there are less and less deaths (15,000 against 18,700). They also studied the increase or decrease in population in each arrondissement. Interesting. If you want to know more - and read French - please have a look at this.