More than a thousand residents of the 6th arrondissement of Paris, one of the most exclusive in the French capital, have signed a petition to oppose the establishment of a Carrefour City in their pretty neighborhood. And it was signed by several celebrities, including Alain Souchon, Catherine Frot, Alain Finkielkraut and the former minister Jacques Toubon.
But the protest against the supermarket takes an unexpected turn: these stars are accused of behaving like spoiled children, elites disconnected from the needs of the common people and only concerned with their privileges.
The petition, launched several months ago, denounces in disorder, reports “Le Dauphiné”, the “endangerment of our small businesses”, “nuisance for local residents”, “significant risks for our safety” (because the supermarket will sell alcohol until 10 p.m.) or evokes an “encouragement to begging”.
“In the 6th arrondissement, we are different, we want to keep our specificities, the cultural aspect of Montparnasse, access to beauty, a quality of life,” argued socialist MP Céline Hervieu on Saturday in “Le Monde”. The major daily then headlined “the very chic opponents of a future supermarket”…
Pierre Richard confused with Pierre Richard
But on social networks, some have unleashed themselves on this “bourgeois community” and these well-off people opposed to a popular brand.
“It’s a village of spoiled children who believe that everything belongs to them,” also addressed in “Le Monde” the mayor of the 6th arrondissement, Jean-Pierre Lecoq, who supports the project.
Faced with this revolt, our French colleagues note, some have dissociated themselves, or even gone backwards. Journalist Ruth Elkrief wanted to make it known publicly that she did not sign the petition, as did business manager Denis Olivennes.
The actor Pierre Richard, for his part, had been confused with a namesake. But in the face of the growing controversy, he has just made it known on Instagram that he did not cite the petition, that he does not live in the 6th arrondissement and that he does not even know what a Carrefour City is…
Others, on the contrary, persist and sign, like the essayist Alain Finkielkraut, who castigates in passing the “sacking” of Paris, which is attributed to the socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo.
In short, what could have been a banal neighborhood conflict turns into a “social novel, against a backdrop of class struggle in the 6th arrondissement,” says “Le Parisien” ironically. As for the journalist who launched the petition, he believes that this “bashing” of the residents of the chic district will ultimately serve their cause.
We’ll see. The “convenience store” is supposed to open next month.
