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Shopping gets sexy at Paris` first singles supermarket
Paris, Oct 14: Titillation near the tinned goods, passion in the preserves and flirting amid the fruit-and-vegetables. Welcome to Paris` first singles` supermarket night.
Paris, Oct 14: Titillation near the tinned goods, passion in the preserves and flirting amid the fruit-and-vegetables. Welcome to Paris' first singles' supermarket night.
Sex and shopping has long been the stuff of fantasy, but now a Parisian department store is bringing the heady mix to life with an event that allows lonely hearts to shop for their suppers and potential partners at the same time.
The "Dating Market" at Galeries Lafayette Gourmet, the store's posh food and wine section, targets the capital's 800,000 singles with the promise of good shopping and the possibility of a good time.
Launched this month in conjunction with a French dating website, the soiree takes place on Thursday nights between 18.30 pm and 21.00 pm. Shoppers on the lookout for love are provided with a special purple basket to be easily picked out of the crowd and hopefully picked-up. A dedicated till is reserved for those wishing to be chatted-up at the check-out and a happy hour at le bar rouge, the store's chic wine bar, makes asking someone out for a drink that little bit easier.
So by 7.30 PM the shop is thronged with singles, all the special baskets have been snapped up and a queue of 25 people are waiting patiently at the entrance for their turn.
Elsa, a student of 22 who prefers not to give her full name, has been queuing for 10 minutes. "It's hard to meet people in Paris," she says, hoping that the "Dating Market" will provides an opportunity to meet lots of suitors in one fell swoop.
Those lucky enough to have bagged their baskets wander through the aisles drawing curious glances from married couples on their weekly shopping trip. Proving that love has no sell-by date, students and pensioners alike brandish their baskets and browse the goods.
Melissa, 32, was so keen to start her shopping that she swapped her phone number for a basket from Serge and Hubert who have come hunting together.
She says she's at the event for a little "sexy food shopping'" and intends to buy only "attractive things". Serge and Hubert go one step further announcing their intention to fill their remaining basket with "seduction tricks" and "breakfast!" Bureau Report
The "Dating Market" at Galeries Lafayette Gourmet, the store's posh food and wine section, targets the capital's 800,000 singles with the promise of good shopping and the possibility of a good time.
Launched this month in conjunction with a French dating website, the soiree takes place on Thursday nights between 18.30 pm and 21.00 pm. Shoppers on the lookout for love are provided with a special purple basket to be easily picked out of the crowd and hopefully picked-up. A dedicated till is reserved for those wishing to be chatted-up at the check-out and a happy hour at le bar rouge, the store's chic wine bar, makes asking someone out for a drink that little bit easier.
So by 7.30 PM the shop is thronged with singles, all the special baskets have been snapped up and a queue of 25 people are waiting patiently at the entrance for their turn.
Elsa, a student of 22 who prefers not to give her full name, has been queuing for 10 minutes. "It's hard to meet people in Paris," she says, hoping that the "Dating Market" will provides an opportunity to meet lots of suitors in one fell swoop.
Those lucky enough to have bagged their baskets wander through the aisles drawing curious glances from married couples on their weekly shopping trip. Proving that love has no sell-by date, students and pensioners alike brandish their baskets and browse the goods.
Melissa, 32, was so keen to start her shopping that she swapped her phone number for a basket from Serge and Hubert who have come hunting together.
She says she's at the event for a little "sexy food shopping'" and intends to buy only "attractive things". Serge and Hubert go one step further announcing their intention to fill their remaining basket with "seduction tricks" and "breakfast!" Bureau Report