Bargain hunters and collectors are over the moon. This Saturday May 16, the Saint-Ouen flea market, set on Porte de Clignancourt, has reopened to passersby and tourists. Even if the latter are quite missing because of the epidemic, stallholders from France’s most visited antique market hope to restart very soon. Amid the health crisis, as many public places are still closed as they fear too harsh deconfinement, this is excellent news for Ile-de-France inhabitants loving to go bargain hunting.
Before such a decision was made, it required strict health instructions to be made. Saint-Ouen flea market director, the association supervising the ultimate den for antique dealer and antique hunters says on France 3 they first “submitted to the subprefecture, the city and the police a securing health protocol”. The goal was of course to avoid the usually crowded aisles before a possible reopening of the market and make it so that “people cannot run into one another”.
To apply their precautions, they “set up traffic directions” and have equipped their stores with hand-sanitizer. Moreover, “storekeepers are masked and will ask customers not to touch furniture or items”. They will also ban to “throw packaging outside stans, on sidewalks or in the aisles”. Following 55 days o f lockdown, we can help ourselves and just have a look. Let’s pray we find some gem…
