Rungis, le Marché...(3/8)

This is another belated piece which I intended to record since last May. I had an occasion to attend a function near Malakoff and it was then I came across the place named Rungis...it did not bring me to special attention until I realised that the place actually plays an important role to Paris and Europe. Let's begin with some basic figures: a market with an area of 232 hectares and serving 18 millions consumers in Europe, out of which two-third is originated within a diameter of 120km from Paris; an annual sales of 7.1 billion euros in 2004; over 1.5 million tones of food products and 36.8 millions flower pots arrived in 2004...one starts to understand the significance of this world second biggest food and beverage wholesale market after the one in Chicago.

Serving the daily basic need of the citizens in a metropolitan, Paris had its scaleable food market since the early Middle Age, and with no surprise, the market was located at the Ile de la Cité, and then relocation of the market took place in response to the continual city development and the enlargement of a food market to cope with the increasing demand of food and beverage in town. It was therefore moved and planted at the site of the existing Hotel de Ville, and then the area near Rue des Petits Champs. After that, the Marché de Champeaux was set up in debut 13th century. The Marché de Champeaux, located at the present Saint Lazare area, was originally an outdoors wheat market. In 1181, the area was used to hold a ‘Saint Lazare Fair’ which gave way to its development as a central gathering area for food and beverage products. Some other consumer items were sold at the area too. The place became an old address of Les Halles after centuries.


The more Paris had been developed, the more complex and sizable the food market was developed and equipped, and the food market at the current Les Halles area gained its fame in the 19th century. The first ‘Pavillon des Halles’ of Les Halles was created under the order of Louis Napoleon in 1853 to develop giant marketplace for the Parisian. Because of the nature of construction where the building structure was made by stones, it was named ‘Fort des Halles’. This version was constructed by the architect named Victor Baltard, and a total of eight Pavilions were erected (in fact, Victor Baltard took part in numerous restoration projects in Paris at that moment including the restoration of Eglise de Saint Germain des-Pres).

A century later, Les Halles, the once-upon-a-time central food market in Paris, lost its attractiveness to consumers after the continual development of metro system and the decentralisation of the city. After all the mode of consumption altered and households could have their shopping in other decentralized small shops and bazaars which located closer to their home. The fresh meat market was detached from Les Halles and established at the area of La Villette. The French government began as well the construction project of 'marché d’intérêt national' in 1964 to delocate food market from centre Paris, and Rungis was chosen to be the new land of taste. It operates as a distribution hub for most of the alimentation products now. Unfortunately, a pass is required to enter the wholesale market and I still lack a chance to go inside the food carnival...people say that there are some good seafood restaurants in the area, and no doubt, I do not query on this.

A detailed history of the development of Rungis market can be found on http://www.rungisinternational.com/pages/fr/presentation/mar_hist.asp.