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Divorce fair hits note with Paris
Source: Agencies |
November 10, 2009, Tuesday
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PARIS, the city of romance, has received a lesson in love's hard knocks, as thousands flocked to the city's first divorce fair.
In France, nearly one out of two marriages ends in divorce, according to the country's National Institute of Demographic Studies.
More than 130,000 divorces were registered in 2007, as compared to just 50,000 three decades ago.
The "New Start" trade fair aimed to tap into that booming market by bringing together 60 stands offering both services obviously related to separation - law firms and counselors - and more obscure disciplines aimed at helping people get back on their feet, like tarot card readers, makeover specialists and self-esteem coaches.
Conferences held throughout the two-day-long weekend fair included talks entitled "Plastic surgery's role in re-conquering your image" and "How to re-seduce your partner using the Gestalt method," "Meeting on the Web" and "Separation: What does a lawyer do?"
Fair organizer Brigitte Gaumet said on Sunday that she had the idea after President Nicolas Sarkozy divorced his second wife months after taking office in 2007.
"For me, that crystallized that divorce has lost its stigma and is really a commonplace thing," Gaumet told The Associated Press.
"Lots of people going through divorces - and also people getting separated or who are widowed - are looking for information on how to bounce back and how to reconstruct."
Gaumet said about 4,000 people visited the event over the weekend.
At the fair, the stands offering legal advice attracted the biggest crowds.
Charles Rene and Verena Carlo were among the rare couples waiting in a long line to talk to a lawyer.
Married, but not to one another, both were about to leave their long-term partners and were seeking to make the process as painless as possible.
"Choosing a lawyer can be really complicated and this isn't the kind of thing you just want to pick someone randomly out of the yellow pages for," said Rene, a 46-year-old father of two.
Carlo described the fair as a "good initiative to help people going through a hard time," but said she was put off by some of the services on offer.
"Just because you're going to divorce doesn't mean you need to get laser hair removal or your fortune told," she said. "I think it's a bit weird, to be honest."
Other visitors disagreed. The lines at several of the makeover specialists were long as dozens of women waited for advice on which haircuts would better suit them or tips on how to apply more seductive makeup.
In France, nearly one out of two marriages ends in divorce, according to the country's National Institute of Demographic Studies.
More than 130,000 divorces were registered in 2007, as compared to just 50,000 three decades ago.
The "New Start" trade fair aimed to tap into that booming market by bringing together 60 stands offering both services obviously related to separation - law firms and counselors - and more obscure disciplines aimed at helping people get back on their feet, like tarot card readers, makeover specialists and self-esteem coaches.
Conferences held throughout the two-day-long weekend fair included talks entitled "Plastic surgery's role in re-conquering your image" and "How to re-seduce your partner using the Gestalt method," "Meeting on the Web" and "Separation: What does a lawyer do?"
Fair organizer Brigitte Gaumet said on Sunday that she had the idea after President Nicolas Sarkozy divorced his second wife months after taking office in 2007.
"For me, that crystallized that divorce has lost its stigma and is really a commonplace thing," Gaumet told The Associated Press.
"Lots of people going through divorces - and also people getting separated or who are widowed - are looking for information on how to bounce back and how to reconstruct."
Gaumet said about 4,000 people visited the event over the weekend.
At the fair, the stands offering legal advice attracted the biggest crowds.
Charles Rene and Verena Carlo were among the rare couples waiting in a long line to talk to a lawyer.
Married, but not to one another, both were about to leave their long-term partners and were seeking to make the process as painless as possible.
"Choosing a lawyer can be really complicated and this isn't the kind of thing you just want to pick someone randomly out of the yellow pages for," said Rene, a 46-year-old father of two.
Carlo described the fair as a "good initiative to help people going through a hard time," but said she was put off by some of the services on offer.
"Just because you're going to divorce doesn't mean you need to get laser hair removal or your fortune told," she said. "I think it's a bit weird, to be honest."
Other visitors disagreed. The lines at several of the makeover specialists were long as dozens of women waited for advice on which haircuts would better suit them or tips on how to apply more seductive makeup.
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