Brief reminder of Part 1 (without mistake ) :
From 1870 onwards, the ragmen began to group together to sell their collections (rags, rabbit skins, scrap metal, etc. ). It was in Saint-Ouen that they set up their precarious camps. Every Sunday morning, they unpack their treasures on the pavements. Gradually, they are joined by refreshment stands and guinguettes. This is how this small village is surveyed by Parisians who come to haggle for items in this bric-a-brac that will be called the flea market.
Tired of packing up their goods after market days, the second-hand dealers organised themselves to set up new permanent markets. A pioner, Romain Vernaison, who onwed a 12000, m2 plot of land, decided to build prefabricat huts to rent to 150 second-hand dealers. He was followen by Biron in 1925 and then by others.
From the early years of the 20th century, the underground will arrive close to this place thus favoring the Sunday walks of the Parisians.
The flea market represants the largest concentration of art dealers in the world with 1100 antique dealers, second-hand dealers and art galeries, which has earned them the nikname of ' Attic of the World ' and one of the major tourist attractions in France. A multitude of craftsmen : cabinet makers, marble makers, glass makers, ceramics restorers, chandeliers, painting restorers ensure the maintenance and safeguarding of France ' s artistic heritage, which makes it possible to preserve the know-how of all these professions.
The flea market of Saint-Ouen is also the Mecca of gypsy jazz and musette in Paris. Django Reinhardt played there and a festival of jazz musette ' festival Didier Lockwood ' take place every year in June in the haert of the Flea Markets.
The Paris Saint-Ouen Flea Market is the largest concentration of antique and second-hand dealers in the world, with more than 5 million visitors a year from all over the world. |
