How Empty are the Streets of Paris? 

Check out my favourite travel luggage by clicking the link (Use code: "Turnip10" for 10% off) www.clkmg.com/LEVEL8/WanderingTurnip

Interesting you call it a ‘retail crisis’ I think it’s more of a long term and permanent shift, a crisis is something that eventually ends. This is forever.

Seen as the election has been announced it becomes official that this is the first time in British history where living standards have dropped during a single Parliament and it is the largest drop in living standards since the Napoleonic war. And at the same time the richest in society have got a lot richer deepening the divide.

That street with the trees made you comment on feeling like wanting to be in a city. Though the trees obviously play a significant part, the absence of cars driving up and down there is worth mentioning.

I'm a Yorkshireman that lives in Paris. I wanted to add one thing that doesn't get mentioned AT ALL, but one huge reason the high street is still thriving here in Paris is that Amazon next day delivery simply does not work here like it does in the UK/London. This morning for example, I need to buy a book - I check Amazon and the quickest delivery (with Prime) is in 4 days time. That's common - I haven't ever seen anything be able to get delivered within 24hrs, it's usually 3-4 days. So it means to buy that book today, I need to head out, explore book shops, speak to people and interact. Grab a baguette, grab a coffee etc. Basically, it's like it used to be in the UK before online shopping took over. Whereas when I lived in London, I'd be able to order that book from my phone and it would be delivered to my flat that same afternoon. I didn't need to leave my home, didn't speak to anyone, and stayed inside. Paris has its problems, but it'll never allow itself to have its high street decimated like in the UK - the people here value human interaction and small businesses far too much. On my street for example, the average age of each business seems to be around 40+ years.

Looks like Paris has a lot less bookies than your average UK city

Congratulations on 100k well deserved 🎉

You know you’re getting old when you start getting excited over doorhandles shop 😂 (I’m currently excited about getting to buy a new front door so that wasn’t a read) 😜

Love your channel, Turnip! I live in Washington State, in an affluent area outside of Seattle and despite it being one of the most expensive places in the country, there are an abundance of boarded up shops here too, I recently walked around a shopping center which caters to the wealthy residents of that city and noticed multiple shops boarded up. Even worse is downtown Seattle, it’s hard to put into words how bad it is there, majority of shops closed and boarded up, the ones that are open are subjected to rampant crime. Also, I was in Hawaii last week and could not believe the amount of closed shops in some of the tourist areas, one shopping center had about a 20% occupancy rate - to be honest it felt depressing walking through and seeing almost the entire building vacant. So nowhere seems immune from the decline of the high street. Keep up the great content, cheers.

Ooh la-la. I've been to Paris many times and always found it pretty grubby and run down honestly. Still nicer than most cities in the UK now though.

I think the difference with Paris and London is a lot of the shops are rented by older people who have had them for decades. Paris has strict rent control, so a lot of those little shops probably are paying very little rent. Once the older French people retire (very few young people want to be shopkeepers) and the rents can be raised to whatever the owner wants, it will be interesting to see what happens. More franchise stores, just like London. In my experience, France and Italy are about 20 years behind globalization trends happening in the USA and UK.

You’ve visited after Paris has had its homeless removed and cleaned up for the olympics . Another visit needed when olympics has gone . Paris normally stinks

I just spotted the 100k subscribers, here. Congratulations!!!

You need to take the metro up to the gare du nord, barbes, stalingrad, or gare de l'est and have a nice stroll around there, and I think the comments section would be very different.

property rent is way way lower in France than in UK. keeps it vibrant

"lovely bit of bush!" 👏

Congrats to 100 K subs! Keep up the good work!

Thank you for this video. I love your British tours and as a Frenchman I love this french shops tour even more

The consistent element is rising inequality, the poor are getting poorer, the middle class are being asset stripped by the wealthy and those wealthy people just keep on getting richer. You go to wealthy towns in the UK and their high streets are full of shoppers. People say it's the Internet, which has had an impact, however the richer an area the most they spend online yet their town centres are buzzing, even with pints starting at £5. You can map poverty straight onto vacancy on the High street. Paris may have rich residents, but the tourists are drying up as they are being squeezed back home and inequality in France is getting worse.

There will always be some empty shops, as owners retire or relocate. In the UK, though, independent retailers like my family, three of whom owned shops locally in the 50's and 60's, can no longer afford the exorbitant rents and rates

Not your first foreign video - you've done plenty that were not in Yorkshire.

Was there last few days for the first time. Walked 25 miles. Very vibrant and bustling. Annoyingly it is more beautiful than London. They got to keep all their old buildings. Still feels very much like France too. I even saw a woman walk past in a stripy top eating a baguette. Slightly jealous overall

Enjoyed this. Good video. Thanks.

Look how clean the streets are.

Very interesting video ! I am Parisian born and bred, and Paris is a lovely place at time but noisy and dirty. What you have seen is pre-Olympic Games Paris, cleaned and improved, just a facade on a sunny day (lucky you !). Also as far as what you think were flats, just be aware that many are actually offices : GPs, attorneys, marketing companies, etc ;)

High rent/property prices is killing the economy in western countries.

I loved that comment about the tower...."wow well that was a load of shite".😂 it's why your videos are so real and honest. I remember going up to the middle level in the 90's and thinking this looks rusty and it creaked a lot😢 Keep making the content. 100k can't be wrong.

Congratulations for 100k. 🎉🎊 You're doing a great job. Thank you so much for your videos. Seeing other cities from Europe would be very interesting.

Greetings from Chicago. I was in Paris in November of 2018. I had a great time just wandering the streets. I went to the Tour d'Eiffel and I saw the waiting line and decided it wasn't that big of a deal. From there I wandered over to the Hotel des Invalides.

Congrats on 100k mate. Been a subscriber to your channel since you had less than 5k. It's well deserved 👍

level of shop defense systems is incredible

bonjour! :D it's really nice to listen when you are just sharing your current thoughts out loud, without script or any plan.... that's always so interesting for listener!

"I will complain in my local paper about that" cracked me up. Class video again, congrats on 100K, well deserved. Looking forward to more from the continent from you

My two favourite cities are Amsterdam and Copenhagen. Amsterdam is good for culture and the vibe and the canals and is a fun place but Copenhagen is good largely because it is compact and on a more human scale than any other capital city and it is lively and interesting. I lived in London and worked in the city and its surroundings for years. I feel no incentive to visit nowadays except to see friends. Bournemouth where I live is in retail decline like a lot of South Coast towns.

Long time watcher here- nice to see your first episode outside the UK! I actually first started watching your videos because I grew up in West Yorkshire. I haven't lived in the UK for over a decade but it's nice to hear the accent and I do enjoy your Made in Britain series and Death of the High Street- I think they compliment each other well. I enjoy learning about the old industries- and share your love of old mill chimneys. I'd just like to add that I love Eleanor's fashion sense- actually before you introduced her I was wondering who the pretty and stylish French girl was in the background...

Such a great video, as always!! If you'd ever come down to Italy, I'd be more than happy to be your tour guide in Torino. It's a great case study to look at how cities have changed in Europe, especially due to the passage from industry-based to service-based economy, and having lived in others European cities for years (Glasgow and Barcelona) my perspective on it has definitely changed. Cheers and congrats for the 100k, well deserved:)

My daughter lives in Paris and I've just returned home after a week there. Paris is bursting with energy and it's full of independent shops which is refreshing. Prices in restaurants are very reasonable too for the average tourist. I agree re the zebra crossings though, those cyclists take no prisoners!! Thoroughly enjoyed your take and insights on the city.

It might have been said already but loads of book shops, helped by Amazon being banned from selling books in France.

I was in Paris in January and noticed quite a few vacant shops. Driving back to Calais, we took a diversion and came across the biggest Amazon Warehouse I’ve ever seen. Great video.

love the direction this channel is going in

I just been going through your videos. I was born in the UK, lived in North Cray/Sidcup then we immigrated to New Zealand. At age 13yr we went back for 6mths Bromley area. I remember feeling so overwhelmed by the busy streets...so many people. Seeing the UK so damaged is sad. I am totally blown away by the amount of shops closed down, and the boards that are put up to "hide", let alone the houses that have painted doors on them to look better! But, I just wanted to say, that NZ is having similar, not as fast as over your side of the world. We have major housing crisis, many homeless, smaller towns have suffered, but we also have large retailers struggling to stay a float, another large store announced closing this week. This is a world wide problem for sure! Our health system is broken, its nothing to wait 10hrs in A n E, people have died from our poor system. This is a world wide crisis! The countries are struggling with their IMF payments etc. There is a huge shift - "you will own nothing, you will have goods delivered by drones, you will be happy" isnt that the UN slogan?? Thank you for videos, very eye opening, sad, but important.

Hey ccongrats on your 100k subs , brilliant channel so interesting you deserve it!

I really enjoy your videos 😊 I live in the USA in Florida always wanted to visit 🇬🇧 Thank you for all the videos

So enjoyable to walk along with you, you really wracked up some miles I was impressed. Please come back again!

I haven't been to Paris for many years but the center is nicer than London is now. However some of the arrondissements, suburbs of Paris is piss poor and left behind. London central is grubbier than Paris central.

Good content,you should do more of the major cities in western Europe to compare the retail situation.

Another great video! I love Paris, so really enjoyed watching your cultural observations. Glad to see you’re getting about. Can’t wait for the next one :) thanks Turnip xx

Wow, love your channel. I always hoped you would do Paris. I was blown away when I first went. Charming and very well expressed as always👌👍

the reason paris is more "aesthetically pleasing" and welcoming to walk around in is because of the lower amount of cars. its somewhat obvious once you realize that one factor means everything. a city like paris or london simply doesnt need many cars and should therefore prioritize other modes of transport to reap the overwhelming benefits.

More than happy to show you around Douglas, if you ever visit the Isle of Man.

Well done on reaching 100k! So well deserved 🎉👏🍾🥂👌

I loved your enthusiasm about the double decker trains. 😅 We got them in Hungary now as well, and they are awesome.

Watching you from Paris 😃

Dude. I reckon you’ll be 250 by the end of the year. And 500k subs next year! Keep up the good work

Glad to see that you've been into O'CD rue Pierre Lescot, I enjoy this Cd/Dvd/Vinyl shop when I am in Paris. Your videos in Nottingham were also interesting, I used to live in Beeston during my Erasmus year in 2019 and I think it is sad that George Center is now closed

I stayed in Paris for three months last spring 2023. I must say it looks so clean in your video from my experience. I enjoy most large cities for a little time but I always long back to my house by a lake here in Sweden. I always preferred nature and animals and waking up to birds chirping early in the morning more than sirens. Thanks for the video.

Some districts just outside the central areas of Paris like Saint Denis, Aubervillers and Bobigny are very deprived and contain a lot of boarded and closed businesses but it seems its even happening in the arrondissements of Central Paris as well as some of the banlieus.

*Whoo hoooo* Our Turnip's reached 100K subs! 🥂🍾🍻🎶🥳✊👏🤗 Look forward to this episode abroad.. been to Paris many times hunting the antique markets.. Big congrats on the silver plaque, David! 🎉

As a Brit living in Paris it was fascinating to watch your reaction to it. The street with a lot of closed shops (Rue de Clery) is in the garment district & most of the shops are clothes wholesalers. I don't know why so many have closed but it's not a typical shopping area. The big church tower in a mini park is next to Paris's equivalent to Oxford Street and there have been a few big dept store closures, such as C&A (which used to be in the UK until the 1990s). They've dropped from 4 to 2 branches in the city. There are a lot of bookshops because the Fr govt still regulates prices, creating a more level playing field. In Britain that was done away with, again in the 90s, so now we only have Waterstones. The bookstalls along the Seine have been there for 100s of years & are a tourist attraction as well as bookstalls. You were quite right about the upper floor apartments, but those buildings were built in the 19th century deliberately to house people above shops & businesses. There is so much wasted potential in British city centres. Paris's city council has done a huge amount of work in the last few years to create cycle lanes and green the city with more trees and neighbourhood gardens and planters. The CGT is one of the big trade unions. From what I've seen in other parts of France, local high streets are generally in better shape than the UK. This is largely because they have a much more equal mix of chain stores & independent shops. Not just food, but clothes, homewares etc. So even if a chain fails (& several have esp. since Covid) it doesn't have the same impact. The worst thing to happen in Britain was the collapse of Arcadia, which took with it half a dozen separate chainstores. Secret to visiting the Eiffel Tower or any famous monument anywhere: book online in advance & skip the line 😊

I really enjoy your videos. You always present an honest and interesting video and your style is engaging and entertaining! Well done! Please keep going!

Interesting to see your take on Paris (and sorry to hear your Eiffel Tower experience was underwhelming). I could be wrong, but I got a sort of Monday feeling about some of the streets you visited (Monday being the day many shopkeepers shutter their stores and take the day off). I see the CGT also caught your attention, along with the bouquinistes along the Seine (historic book stalls, those, so much so that they get subsidies from the city but in return they have to keep selling books instead of giving themselves entirely over to tourist tat... .so they remain very picturesque!). Next time you're over I'll show some other shopping areas -- ones doing well, doing badly and in between....

Would love if you came to Ireland to do a video on Belfast or Derry. There's also towns like Coleraine which has a nearly derelict shopping centre

Great video, loved this. Congrats on 100K! Well desereved. I think one of the things that surprises me is that, at least whilst you was there, there wasn't cars cars cars everywhere. It looks like its actually good to be a pedestrian there. And realyl glad you enjoyed Nottingham :)

I love the Idea of all those apartments, people living above the stores. Very Cool.

As you probably noticed but didn't mention out loud, Paris (and France generally) depends much more than the UK does on small owner-operated shops (such as your door handle shop) rather than endless branded chains, so shopping streets tend to be less dependent on large conglomerates deciding to take their business online - or indeed to be as susceptible to dips in the market the way Wilko, Debenhams or House of Fraser were. And even chains tend to be smaller boutiques rather than huge behemoths we have here. Of course large ones exist (you just missed a huge C&A and IKEA on the other side of the Tour St Jacques (the tower in the little park you showed) but even so there's a much bigger selection of fashion brands and indeed small service places. Even the Parisian department stores like Printemps, Galeries Lafayette or BHV (next to where you were) are attractive venues in their own right. And of course as you noticed, the French read a heck of a lot, and new & used book shops are absolutely everywhere. If you'd crossed the river and gone into the Latin Quarter you'd be surrounded by them. In particular, finding a second hand book shop in a British high street is really hard - other than charity shops. But French shops specialising in buying books off folk and selling them on are a very long tradition, of which the kiosks on the river walls are just a tiny part.

You could come to Poland on a short trip, you don't have to spend much and Wizzair does cheap tickets. There you will see a different Europe to what you see in the West. Families out walking out everyday, kids, young ladies free to walk around without the fear of some weirdos bothering them. A country without mass immigration, just one culture and not a melting pot.

Thanks for tour come to New York City the rents are eye watering makes London seem cheap!That protest was wild!

Congratulations on the 100k subscribers!

Great video mate .A real eye opener.

Congratulations on reaching your first 100k Subscribers 🥂🍾🏅

That RU-vid money is starting to kick in now mate. Well done, u definitely deserve it. Keep up the good work. Huddersfield

Thanks @wanderingturnip for this video ! About the retail crisis in France I think you should go to other cities such as Lyon, Lille, Nantes or Toulouse, even town like Chartres or Orleans. Because these smaller cities have more closed/To let ("à louer") retail facilities than Paris, despite the housing being more affordable.

By the way, what day of the week were you visiting? If on a Monday, pretty much every second shop will be closed in France (what would look like shut down could be because it's Monday... or lunchtime any day of the week.....)

You might find a lot of british people round Bordeaux and other areas in the south of France. There are a lot of british residents in France except for Paris. Yea, Paris has a different charme compared to London but it is not an easy town at all... The charme might vanish in a short time and you might have to struggle for a "baguette" deal...

At 16:57 above his head you can see a sign "passage du grand cerf". It's the entrance of a roofed walking street lined with small shops. There are quite a few in the center of Paris and are hard to spot if you don't know what you are looking for.

100k I knew you would even back at day one first couple of videos looking at chimneys and walls.. buzzing for you I’ve been checking on the numbers going up from day one been exciting chuffed for you mate well done 👍🏼 Loving the bags and jacket combo 😂 actually does look good

Unlike London, Paris didn't get bombed into ruins in WW2 so most of the lovely old people - friendly architecture remains. Like your video by the way, and don't lose the Yorkshire outlook on things.

I think the fact that alot of europe are happy to live in the center of towns and cities in a real community helps them alot. Flat/ apartment culture is just a lot more prominent and is actually a lot more functional. Where as the UK has taken an American aproach to property ownership believing suburbs (houses) are better (they're not) and living/ owning a flat is a step down. It also leads to overuse of personal vehicles that shouldn't be needed if you could actually just live a short walk away from everything you would need.

The first indication of problems appears with the absence of people on the streets. Then it is the slow/empty retail shops, then it is the closed shops/businesses, that indicates the reality. I am in the states and it is really bad here with major cities and states being systematically destroyed by its local governments. The claims of people working from home is a LIE that is and has been used/said around the world... If people were working, they would still have to shop, do banking, vacation, buy clothing/shoes, do home/apartment repairs, go to restaurants, to movies/beaches/amusement parks etc... NONE OF THESE THINGS ARE HAPPENING!!! Supermarkets closing down, banks closed down, commercial spaces empty, city and state parks empty, once popular streets and window shopping empty indicates a DEEP DEPRESSION... and people are walking around clueless.

Great City exploration again Wandering Turnip!!!!❤❤❤

Hi David ,would it be possible to compare the property prices of apartments or flats compared to uk citys.

Glad you are getting sponsors, you deserve it and the suitcases look nice - but why oh why didn't you show us the *inside?* I was waiting but you never opened one 🙈

Yes that Nottingham video was fun. You need a third visit that is focussed on the excellent pubs in the area. The monolithic black tower you saw from the Eiffel Tower is the Tour Montparnasse. I used to work around there and the area is actually quite nice. It's often said that the best views in Paris are from the Tour Montparnasse - because they do not feature the Tour Montparnasse. The thing that bugs me most is that it doesn't line up with the grid of the street plan and is slightly off-centre. It really affects my OCD.

Haha! Your donner pizza analogy was bang on. I had similar experience from going up the citadel tower in Cairo

One thing I noticed was not only the cleanliness but did you see any homeless ?.

Poverty with exquisite aesthetics

Great vid - I like you coming over the channel to check out things in other European countries. As others said, this def has a Monday vibe when a lot of shops are closed for the day. Living in Brussels here, but I think Paris is doing really well retail wise... you should go see the French towns though. You have these huge American style retail centres or 'zones commerciales', with the huge French supermarkets: Carrefour, Intermarche etc. Literally on the edge of the town with the town centre totally dead, with only the butcher and boulangerie seemingly doing ok. The contrast is mad, and even worse than the UK (in my opinion).

Congratulations on the 100k subs mate!! Do a walsall vid :p

Cherrypicked city tour. Visit the Banlieues preferably at night. Its great fun.

Paris is a beautiful place to visit. Great culture, food and architecture.

Paris is a cafe city where people can sit comfortably with a coffee and read a book or write a card or letter without that nuisance background muzak or rock music which is on in every single cafe or coffee bar in the UK . Now in the UK there is this nuisance music as background even if you are in the waiting room at the GP or the dentist and even at the hospital in a ward where I was having a treatment. It drives me NUTS! But in Paris you can get a break from it and its just the background of the conversation of the French people chatting ,and the hum of the street and maybe the hiss of the coffee machine etc.(Of course there are bars and cafes for music if people want that , just its not all carbon copy everywhere!) Book shops are great and there is a famous university. The Sorbonne. Those riverside bookstalls sell antique books and magazines and have done so since the 19th Century.Ithink it wasn't the right time of year to go up the Eiffel tower. It looked too crowded. I went many years ago when there were no long queues and no masses of tourists up on the levels up top. It was actually quite romantic. Anywhere is spoiled if too busy.

Hi Great video I'm planning on visiting Paris France very soon, I can't wait to Go on the Eiffel tower again and chill out at the Bar on the lower section and eat French food 😊

Try visiting Paris's satellite towns, you'll get the shock of your life.

Le Navet Errant!

That’s interesting. In the English town where I live, they have been regenerating our previously pitiful high street by converting former office space into apartments. It’s still fairly quiet at night though, due to the new residents not appreciating noisy venues at night, but the high street seems more lived in now. Perhaps, a similar scheme might save other high streets/cities?

I love your stuff, no bullshit or silly music, just good honest facts, what you see is how it is, keep up the top work David 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

The UK has more income inequality than France plus the cost of living is higher. Paris looks more beautiful than London - plus i love the French spirit, they get stuff done and dusted - which explains why their country is better than the Uk lol

Thanks David great stuff, refreshing Navet

This was a fun vlog! Had me laughing a few times.. especially when it turns out you prefer a tiny chimney to the Eiffel Tower.. 🤣 Hope you and Eleanor enjoyed the fondue at least.. 11:08 😆 Whaaaaat? You wouldn't even return to Slough for the chimney, David? I even wrote you an ode on that vlog.. 🤭 🤦🏻‍♀️ _"Depressing, disheartening..."_ - then, *"WOW!"* 😍 Said Turnip whilst wand'ring through Slough.. A brick chimney he'd spied Punching tall, full of pride! He thinks the town's *wonderful* now! 😆 Good sponsor for your vlog abroad.. Babbel could be next.. Great job, excellent presentation as always.. really enjoyed it, thanks and huge congrats on 100K! 👍🍻

poor mrs turnip being made to walk behind fix up mr turnip, this is the city of love! 😂