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September 04 2011
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!
July 10 2011
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.
January 12 2011
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.
November 29 2010
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.
October 14 2010
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.
July 26 2010
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...
April 20 2010
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.
April 17 2010
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...).
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