In recent times, a street stall culture has become popular in China, but many people don’t know that this culture originated from France. From a French perspective, we can divide street stalls into several forms, such as flea markets, street hawking, mobile sales, etc.
In fact, flea markets are one of the most famous forms of street stall culture.
Before the development of online sales, the most famous flea market in the world, which can be said to be the originator of such places, was none other than Saint-Ouen in Paris. The flea market here has a history of more than 150 years. .
The establishment of the Paris Saint-Ouan Flea Market also originated from the French reconstruction of Paris in the 19th century.
At that time, the western part of Paris was an area where most of the financial and industrial circles, some businessmen, and industry elites lived. It could be said to be an aristocratic area. Relatively poor industrialists and poor people can only live far away from the city center and live in some suburbs. Paris-Saint-Ouan developed on this basis and became an area for the poor. It is also a typical example of the "dirty mess" in the entire city.
In 1870, France was in turmoil. After the Franco-Prussian War, the people of Paris were hungry and cold. In order to make a living, thieves, fishmongers, and secondhand goods gradually gathered in Saint-Ouin, Paris, in a place of only 300 square meters. , slowly became a famous second-hand market in France.
Three religions and nine streams gather here, most of them do it to make money, but there are also government reasons.
In 1883, the city of Paris launched an "urban cleansing campaign" and placed trash cans at the door of every household to collect garbage. This move seriously affected the livelihood of scavengers. In addition, scavengers generally move at night. For residents, in addition to disturbing their rest, there are also some unsafe factors.
What’s even more coincidental is that Paris-Saint-Ouan happens to be located in the city’s Sangui area. What’s even more worth mentioning is that in Paris-Saint-Ouan, you don’t need to pay taxes when buying things. The tax-free policy attracts many customers here.
After the flow of people increased, the corresponding service industry also quietly emerged. Some vendors began to sell food, and taverns gradually prospered. Just imagine, you can drink some wine, listen to street performers playing guitar, and don’t have to pay taxes when buying things. The relaxed and lively atmosphere has made many wholesalers see business opportunities.
Slowly, the number of small wooden houses in Saint-Ouin, Paris, gradually decreased. The vendors who had gained huge profits also gave up the form of setting up street stalls and planned a prototype of a "flea second-hand market" along the street. .
The government would naturally not ignore the rapid development of Paris-Saint-Ouan, so in 1884, the French government included it within the scope of taxation, which led to a large number of vendors quickly withdrawing and starting business again? Certificate street stall?. Some officers came here and saw homeless people sleeping with dogs in their arms at night and getting up covered in fleas in the morning, so they named the market "Flea Market".
Until 1908, street vendors felt that there was not much profit from simply setting up street stalls, so they gradually began to move into wider streets and build some fixed shops, gradually forming a group of people who accepted the government Management, a "flea market" willing to pay taxes.
After World War I, some farsighted businessmen introduced water, electricity, and contractor shops here, and rented them to other small businessmen. By 1920, it had developed into an area of ??13,000 square meters. A large flea market.
From 1925 to 1945, Paris Saint-Ouan opened an antique market of 7,000 square meters, a shanty market of 1,500 square meters, and a Malik market of 3,000 square meters, eventually forming an unprecedented, Huge flea market.
After World War II, Europe gradually became peaceful. Going to flea markets to shop for treasures became a leisure choice for Parisians. In addition to the dazzling array of second-hand goods at low prices, there are also various kinds of shopping outside the state. Cafes, pubs, restaurants, entertainment venues.
In 1949, the flea market was greatly renovated and replaced with beautiful and clean asphalt roads.
In the 1990s, flea markets were more refined and classified. From here, you can find furniture, jewelry, and clothes from the 18th century, attracting people from all over the world to come here to hunt for goods.
Today, Paris-Saint-Ouan has become the "world's largest flea market" and has become the target of imitation by various flea markets around the world.