Why Local Traders Are The Heart And Soul of France

"My father was not only a very good pastry chef, but above all an artist. He spent a lot of time making sugar masterpieces and passed on to me this passion for pastry". Before becoming one of the great French master chocolatiers, François Pralus grew up in the laboratory of his father, Auguste, who created the "Praluline" in 1955. Even today, this brioche filled with pralines remains the icon of the house. François has since taken over the family business, and in turn works with his two sons.

But his recipe for success is not exclusive to the food industry. From stationery to the clothes we wear, objects of our daily lives imply a real know-how often linked to family heritage or regional traditions. 

"Imagine a town without shopkeepers: it would have no flavour," says Lionel Saugues, vice-president of the French Federation of Traders' Associations. 

From the textile industry of the Vosges to the Pyrenean pastures, from the intellectual tradition of the Parisian cafés to the printing press in Lyon: craftsmen are the heart and soul of France.

"Our members are present in all the major cities, but also in medium-sized towns, rural areas and overseas territories, and this local economy is a major part of our national heritage”. Independent shops, farmers' markets, service companies... 

Their activities help to preserve cultural and regional specificities. Many seek excellence through the transmission of an ancestral know-how, often rewarded with prestigious prizes such as the “Mercure d'Or” or the title of “Meilleur Ouvrier de France”. 

Small businesses are sometimes running in families from four or five generations, and their taste for authenticity goes hand in hand with a strong entrepreneurial spirit. If local shops had their own specificities since the Middle Ages, the industrial revolution of the 19th century changed the situation. 

With the development of transports facilitating the movement of goods, the Halles Haussmanniennes and Parisian department shops gave a new commercial model to provincial and European cities - Émile Zola staged this transformation a few years later in his novels Le Ventre de Paris (1873) and The Ladies’ Delight (1883). 

More contemporary challenges have followed, to which small shopkeepers have to constantly adapt. In recent decades, shopping centres have weakened the activity of city centres and threatened the appearance of wasteland in rural areas. 

Consumers' expectations are constantly evolving, and sustainable development issues must also be addressed. Finally, digital technology is a new essential asset... which can sometimes turn into a competitor.  

To ensure their future while preserving traditions, craftsmen are striving to innovate with agro-environmental measures, ethical manufacturing, drive services, online shops, and educational workshops that encourage exchanges with customers. 

Whatever their sector of activity, many are actively involved within their city. For, beyond their economic function, local shops also fulfil other social and community responsibilities. They play an irreplaceable role as the Covid crisis has shown: they maintain services in rural villages and remote neighbourhoods, and help rebuild links with the elderly. 

This exhibition wants to pay tribute to these talents through their individual expertise in a series of portraits representing the French cultural heritage.