France - Paris’ reputation as a destination for lovers and honeymooners has taken a knock as broken-hearted visitors took to the French capital’s first divorce fair.
Half of all French marriages ends in divorce, according to the country’s National Institute of Demographic Studies, and the New Start exhibition has been set up to tap into this growing market. According to organiser Brigitte Gaumet, more than 4,000 people attended the event’s debut at the weekend.
More than 130,000 divorces were registered in the country in 2007, a huge increase in the 50,000 registered three decades ago.
New Start taps into the boom by bringing together 60 stands offering services related to separation, such as law firms and counsellors. Exhibitors will also offer less obvious services aimed at helping divorcees get back on their feet, like tarot card readers, makeover specialists and self-esteem coaches.
Conferences held throughout the two days included: ‘Plastic surgery’s role in re-conquering your image’, ‘How to re-seduce your partner using the Gestalt method’, ‘Meeting on the Web’ and ‘Separation: What does a lawyer do?’
The fair’s organiser Brigitte Gaumet, claims she had the idea for the event after French president Nicolas Sarkozy divorced his second wife months after taking office in 2007. “For me, that crystalised that divorce has lost its stigma and is really a commonplace thing,” Gaumet told the Associated Press. “Lots of people going through divorces, and also people getting separated or who are widowed, are looking for information on how to bounce back and how to reconstruct.”
