Brocante: Garage Sale à la Française

by Ellie Markovitch
What can you get for one euro at a brocante? Two pairs of used children’s pants, a champagne cap or an old post card. Maybe for a little more, you can get a used baby stroller, pepper grinder or a perfume bottle. The term brocante is often used in a generic way. A “brocante,” as it is advertised on posters around towns in France, is a place where one can buy miscellaneous artefacts. As a brocante shopper Mariannie Jancourt defines, “ ...this is thousands of people selling lots of stuff.” On a sunny spring Sunday, hundreds gather in the town of Chaville, southwest of Paris, to take part in the annual brocante. Private individuals as well as professionals brocanteurs and antique dealers set their tables with a little bit of everything for sale. This particular event is highlighted by a fanfare band that walks between the narrow streets. The http://www.vide-greniers.org lists more than 400 events scheduled for the Paris-Ile-de-France area alone.