‘Spoiled children' of chic Paris neighbourhood block budget supermarket
News that a Carrefour City mini-market is set to open on the corner of one of the city's most upscale neighbourhoods has drawn the wrath of residents and business owners who say they fear the deterioration of their wealthy community in the sixth arrondissement.
Simon Benbaruk, the president of the local shopkeepers' association and a children's hairdresser, told French newspaper Le Monde: 'When you're paying more than €20,000 (£17,300) per square meter, you don't want to have scum downstairs.'
Several petitions have been launched to protest the opening of the mini grocery store on the corner of streets Vavin and Bréa, a prime patch of real estate that overlooks a small, shaded, cobblestone square.
The neighbourhood is also just steps from one of the city's most popular tourist attractions, the Luxembourg Garden.
But Jean-Pierre Lecoq, the Republican mayor of the sixth arrondissement who signed off on the deal last year, lashed back at the petitioners, accusing them of hypocrisy. Signatories include bankers, publishers, lawyers, politicians and personalities from the French media, music and film industry.
Mr Lecoq said: 'A large number of the petitioners have worked or work in finance.'
'They have contributed to financialising the economy and therefore killing the least profitable local businesses. It's a village of spoiled children who believe that everything belongs to them.'
The current protest is a case of déjà vu.
In 1996, residents revolted against the opening of a McDonald's on the same corner.
But back then, Mr Lecoq, who had been newly elected as mayor of the arrondissement, lent his support to the protesters who eventually succeeded in blocking the arrival of the fast-food giant to their neighbourhood.
Céline Hervieu, a Socialist deputy for the 11th constituency, lent her support to the protesters and said residents are 'fed up' with the homogenisation of neighbourhoods.
She said: 'In the 6th, we are different, we want to keep our specificities, the cultural aspect of Montparnasse, access to beauty, a quality of life... Not to be part of this forced march.'
One of the petitions launched in April warns that the opening of a corner shop will change the 'face of the neighbourhood forever'.
Along with threatening small businesses like greengrocers, butchers, bakers and wine shops, residents are warned that they will have to put up with the arrival of delivery trucks, increased safety risks with the sale of alcohol, and the accumulation of waste in the square that will lead to 'the encouragement of begging'.
Lénaïc Dufour, who launched the campaign, also points out that the neighbourhood is home to a heritage Art Deco building designed by 20th-century architect Henri Sauvage and should be managed as a 'protected zone'.
Another petition spearheaded by a former economic journalist has garnered more than 3,000 signatures from high-profile French personalities, including Jacques Toubon, a former culture and justice minister, Alain Souchon, the singer, Ruth Elkrief, the TV journalist and Alain Finkielkraut, the essayist.
Bruno Segré, a journalist, told Le Monde: 'Our neighbourhood is constantly under threat from people who want to change our ecosystem.'
Counter petition launched
On Saturday, a counter petition was launched in support of the corner shop opening, as a means to 'improve integration at all levels of local society' in one of the most affluent neighbourhoods in the city.
It said: 'Over 40 per cent of households in this arrondissement are liable for wealth tax, a proportion well above the national average of 7 per cent – clear evidence of the significant inequality that persists in this area.
'By making basic necessities accessible to more people, we can help reduce this disparity.'
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