despite the pandemic, a compact crowd and not always masked in the center of Paris

In the eyes, the smiles of the children, the wonder. And among the older ones, the same enchantment. In the center of Paris, Sunday, December 19, it is the affluence of the great days. At noon the crowd is compact, not always masked. With Christmas and its magic, the pandemic seems almost forgotten. 100,000 people walk through a department store. The aisles are crowded with people. Now is the time for the last races, the last purchases, and perhaps the hardest part is choosing.

In the aisles, the French want to let go, without counting. More than 1,000 euros in gifts for a customer of a department store. Sometimes it’s complicated to keep to the budget. The average basket is on the rise, store management confirms that sales are as important as before the pandemic. “There is a local clientele which is very, very, very present, something that we did not have two years ago”, says Olivier Moulin, Printemps Haussmann sales director. And it should continue. This department store expects a large crowd until New Year’s Eve.