This image is a commentary on what is happening to small towns all over France and, I suspect, many other countries too. This is the main street of the medium sized town of Guer photographed in the middle of a Friday afternoon - if you were describing this scene, the word 'bustling' is not the first one you would reach for. The only businesses still open in this street are service providers: a chemist, two hearing aid shops, a medical supplies shop, two opticians, a hairdressers, a travel agency, two banks and the one I was visiting - the centre for medical analysis. All other businesses have closed down, including the newsagents on the right which closed the week before Christmas... you will not be surprised to learn that there are two large supermarkets on the outskirts of this town.
This happened in the states with all the malls etc. But there is a swing back to smaller stores if they are done right. Sort of like what the farmer is doing to survive, become something more. Nice shot.
@joansmor The problem with town centres is that no-one lives in them any more - not so many anyway - and they arrive in the car and then can't find anywhere to park and/or it costs an arm and a leg to do so. France is better in that respect as the smaller towns like this one usually have adequate free parking. There is usually plenty of parking in cities too, but you have to pay.
So is it the same thing that is primarily happening in the US? The what we call the, "Big Box" stores are moving and the small "Mom & Pop, stores can't compete?
@skipt07 It's along those lines but in the small market towns like this one you would have had a butchers, a bakers, a fishmongers, a hardware shop, a wine and spirits shop, a clothes shop, etc - then a supermarket (or two) come along selling all those things under the same roof, at discount prices and with parking right outside the door. The individual retailers, with individual service, just can't compete so they close-up and the shops stay empty.
This is a great picture! To bad the story that goes along with is doesn't match! Great detail and sharpness! I have seen a lot of those kinds of changes too. The sad thing is those one of a kind businesses can rarely be replaced and the small towns slowly deteriorate.
March 7th, 2015
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