Marché international de Rungis –
the new belly of Paris
It was Emile Zola who named the huge food market of Paris called Les Halles, “the belly of Paris”. The wonderful Parisian photographer Robert Doisneau captured its vibrant life in photos for nearly 50 years before it was closed in 1969 after more than 800 years of trading, a piece of Paris history gone forever…
Well, not quite. Peter Jones visits the International Market of Rungis, the replacement market on the outskirts of inner Paris.
A few mind blowing figures first:
Rungis International Market is the world’s largest wholesale fresh food market, in fact it’s larger than Monaco
More than 8 billion euros a year are spent here every year
More than 12,000 people work there
Peter Jones makes an early morning visit to the world's biggest fresh food market