French word of the day: Le BHV
Published: 13 November 2025
And just like that we are nearly into Christmas! No, Mariah Carey has not yet made her appearance on French radio, but the decorations are going up nearly everywhere I look.
Yes, I do realize that Thanksgiving (and the newly adopted French shopping Black Friday) has not occurred yet either but, during this cloudy November in Paris, I’m happy for a bit of festive cheer!
But just in time for all the festivities, there is a new controversy in Paris. The Chinese discount retailer Shein that is usually only online, has suddenly decided to sell their offerings at the famed BHV store in central Paris.
Now, if you’ve been to Paris before, you may have heard of the BHV. In shopping terms, it is a local institution, dating back to 1856. Located in the Marais, the name stands for “Bazar de l’Hôtel de Ville” because it is just across from from the Mayoral office, Paris’s Hotel de Ville.
One of the original grand-daddy of department stores, there are 8 floors selling everything from clothing and bed linen to art supplies and DIY hardware items. Prices were of a mid-range and high-end set, not quite the style of the bargain hunters who like Shien.
But there have been reports for many months now that the BHV is having a cashflow crisis and not paying its suppliers.
Whether a result of bad management, a lack of customers, or a change in strategy, a lot of the aisles in the BHV have recently been depressingly empty. Which is rather strange because it located in the Marais on the Rue de Rivoli , one of the most popular areas in the city for tourists and locals alike.
But the population of Paris is declining. On average, 12,000 locals and especially families have been leaving Paris a year. From 2.1 million to 1.96, there has been a net loss of 136,000 inhabitants over the past 12 years leaving fewer locals needing the sort of items that the BHV was offering.
The Marais is also the area that in May 2025 became a car-limited zone, known as a ZTL, after years of Mayor Anne Hidalgo’s push to reduce the number of cars in Paris.
To the rescue is the low-cost Chinese retailer Shein! La Poste says that 22% of La Poste deliveries across France involve packages from Shein and Temu, another Chinese marketplace.
So the grand opening last week of the first-ever Shein retail store anywhere in the world, you would have guessed correctly if you had said there would be a crowd waiting. The BHV announced 50,000 people made their way over, waiting in long queues to get in.
Meanwhile a couple of days later, the brands Dior and Guerlain, announced that they have decided to leave the BHV. And just this morning, the Groupe SMCP which owns the French brands Sandro, Maje, Claudie Pierlot and Fursac announced they are also leaving the BHV.
In other streets nearby this same month, the famed musical instrument store Paul Beuscher has closed its doors after 175 years. Not to mention the high-end food caterer, Lenôtre which was also just footsteps away.
I leave you to imagine the political fallout and blame game here. In any case the current mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, had already previously decided not to be a candidate in the next local election in March 2026, declining to take take credit/blame for the results of her mandate.
Paris is changing. For better or worse, it is less cars and families, more tourists and young urbanites…
Anyway the next time you are in Paris and need an emergency t-shirt because you have have spilt some wine on yours, you know what shop to go to in central Paris!
In other news:
- November 13 marks the 10-year anniversary of the attack on the Bataclan and other places across Paris. The attacks killed 137 people and injured many many more.
- This past Tuesday was November 11 remembrance day for fallen soldiers lost in battle. An official remembrance ceremony was held on the Champs-Elysées, but perhaps more moving was this commemoration at the Ossuaire de Douamont in Verdun, France. Over 300,000 French and German soldiers died fighting against each other here, during the 1916 Battle of Verdun during WW1. Around 130,000 of the dead were never identified, and their bones were placed here together in the ossuary as a memorial.
- President Macron’s poll ratings are in the toilet at 11% confidence, a new low, just like his predecessor in whose government he served, President François Hollande.
- The renowned Le Monde newspaper suggests banning the 🚀 rocket emoji, because apparently it “ demonstrates a fetish for rapid growth “.
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