theonlyD800inthehameau
Photography by theonlydeadheadinthehameau
Thursday Doors: A Vendre
Something a little different this week…À vendre: For Sale.
Here in rural France there are innumerable properties, both residential and commercial, for sale. Many of these – perhaps even the majority – have been up for sale for many years. And they are, frankly, unsaleable.
When it comes to commercial properties – shops – the economic consequences of improved transport links and the spread of car ownership have left many rural communities with little more than the bare essentials available locally. In our village, for example, there is a boulangerie, a pharmacy, a ‘superette’ and – bizarrely – two hairdressers.
There are also plenty of empty shops optimistically displaying ‘À Vendre’ signs – as they have been for many years, to judge from the distinctly dated style of the shopfronts. Here are a couple of examples:
Of rather more architectural interest is this failed enterprise – hairdresser, parfumerie and purveyor of fishing supplies. Obviously, nothing worked:
Even large towns are proving incapable of supporting smaller local shops, as these two examples from Confolens illustrate:
Normal service will be resumed next week, with some reassuringly knackered doors from the cathedral city of Chartres.
Thursday Doors 29 March 2017
theonlyD800inthehameau 
A sad sign of the times, but evocative photos.
Thank you.
A sad reality indeed. It’s happening here as well. Between online shopping and big chain “super-centers” the retail landscape has changed dramatically in recent years 😦
Hopefully some other uses can be found for these places. Perhaps little bistros, cafés, or restaurants?
It would be nice to think so, but really the local population is too small to support anything more than basic amenities. And coiffeuses.
Terrific set of shop fronts. The patisserie and chocolatier shop with its ephemeral specialities is the best. I’d go and shop there. Great posting.
Especially love the patissier, which looks like the scene from a movie. Great post.
Sad about the undesirable digs, but I thank you for sharing them, because they’re all gorgeous storefronts to me.
Sad – love the third and fourth building for sale
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such a shame it is happening in Canada too, in small towns, places no longer on or near a major highway, everyone is in a hurry.