Teddy bears have been appearing for a few years in a district of Paris, it is now the whole city that has yielded to their charm.
In the Gobelins district
A curious phenomenon appeared in 2018 in Paris. Indeed, for 5 years, teddy bears have invaded the Gobelins district by settling in the windows of a bookstore or even seated on the terraces of restaurants and cafés. Since then, the phenomenon has grown considerably and these teddy bears are now part of the daily life of Parisians.
The idea of a bookseller
At the end of October 2018, many teddy bears appeared in the window of a bookstore in the Gobelins district in the heart of the 13th arrondissement of Paris. It is Philippe, bookseller in the district who is at the head of this sweet initiative. However, no claim arises from it, neither artistic nor ecological and it is not on the occasion of the end of the year celebrations either. The objective is simply to offer a dose of sweetness and humor to passers-by in the neighborhood.
To bring happiness to everyday life
At the start of this marvelous phenomenon, Philippe installed teddy bears in the windows of his bookstore and then sent some of them for immersion in restaurants and shops in the neighborhood. Very quickly, young and old fell under the spell of its bears. To take pictures or even give them hugs, everyone stops in front of these giant stuffed animals. And passers-by are unanimous: they are “cute” and “bring happiness to everyday life“. The phenomenon that the mayor of the 13th century, Jérôme Coumet, a fan of teddy bears himself, described as “benevolent and deliciously regressive” took off towards the afterlife in a kind of intergalactic “big love”! A Facebook page, updated daily dedicated to them, which brings together 29,000 subscribers and nearly 300,000 visitors, has been a hit in the United States and Japan!
