GETTING THROUGH THE CRISIS: MORE AND MORE PARISIANS RANSACK THEIR CELLARS AND TAKE BOTTLES OF WINE TO PAWN SHOPS

Once upon a time people took jewelry, family heirlooms, silver and paintings to the pawnshop. Today, the economic crisis has brought back this old way of making some quick cash. More and more people are pawning wine these days and in Paris the first auction of prestigious wines will be held at the famous pawn house Le Crédit Municipal. All the bottles being auctioned were left at pawn shops by people who did not redeem them: nobles in despair, wine collectors and people who, no doubt reluctantly, had to give up a valuable bottle. The auction catalogue includes vintage Champagnes, old bottles of Chateau Lafite and prestigious Armagnac dating back to late nineteenth century.
“It‘s easier to go to the basement and bring us some good bottles of wine rather than pull down the pictures from the living room or remove the necklace from the wife’s neck,” says Bernard Candiard, General Manager of Le Crédit Municipal. France has always boasted aversion to credit cards, and in fact their national debt is lower than other countries like Great Britain and the United States. The crisis, instead, has made State pawnshops the last resort for a large part of the population and business in this sector has increased by 30% in the last year.