A Century of Prestige

in the heart of the Paris Saint-Ouen Flea Market

1925

creation of Biron

100 years of existence

7500

square meters

170 antique dealers and art dealers

5 centuries of art and refinement, XVIIand in the 21st century

You enter Biron as if you were in a village. At the corner of Rue des Rosiers, two long alleys lined with the windows of 170 antique dealers and art dealers are revealed. Chandeliers with tassels in the style of the Grand Siècle, Napoleon III furniture, Renaissance paintings alternate with Lalique glassware, designer furniture, contemporary ceramics and Asian art.

Since its creation in 1925, Biron has been recognized for the quality of the objects presented there, attracting collectors, museums and renowned French and international decorators, but also strollers and curious people in search of rare and precious objects.

Located in the heart of the Puces de Paris Saint-Ouen, one of the oldest markets, Biron has managed to maintain its prestige and high standards, which have made it a major player in the Parisian art market for a century.

The Faubourg St-Honoré Flea Market

The origins of the Puces date back to the 1870s, when the rag-and-bone men – a corporation that at the time numbered more than 11 people – set up shop at Porte de Clignancourt, an unbuildable military servitude zone on the other side of the capital's fortifications, to unpack their merchandise.

From 1885, the obligation to request a parking permit from the city of Saint-Ouen made the creation of the Puces official. The "market of little" was quickly organized among the guinguettes, refreshment stalls, circuses and other fairground stalls.

The profession of second-hand dealer became more professional when, in 1898, regulations specified its activity as “reseller of old furniture, clothes, books, jewelry, dishes and other random objects and merchandise.”

The metro was created in the early years of the 20th century and helped to make the Puces a very popular place for Sunday strolls.
appreciated by Parisians looking for treasures in this extraordinary bric-a-brac.

The demolition of the “fortifs” in 1920 led to the relocation of the market to Saint-Ouen and, at the same time, the birth of enclosed markets.

The Biron Market was opened in 1925 on land belonging to Henri Paul Mouchet, jeweler and manufacturer of dynamos for the army.

The Saint-Ouen Brocanteurs founded the first flea market to sell selected antique furniture and objects referenced in the history of art, thus distinguishing itself from neighboring markets. Frequented by all of Paris's fashion and arts scene, the Biron Market was soon nicknamed the "Faubourg St-Honoré des Puces".

Along its two large avenues extending over 7 m², prestigious antique dealers and art dealers gradually succeed the second-hand dealers of the early years. Setting up in Biron is a guarantee of quality and success for professionals. Many galleries are passed down from generation to generation, like the market, which has been owned by the same family for a century.

Every weekend, the market aisles attract the most demanding collectors and professionals, French or foreign, lovers of beautiful objects and curious neophytes. We often come across artistic personalities, particularly from music, cinema, culinary arts, etc.

The Paris Saint-Ouen flea market today

Located at the gates of Paris, the Paris Saint-Ouen Flea Market is home to the largest number of antique and second-hand dealers in the world. Its twelve enclosed markets linked by five shopping streets called "Pucières", as well as its many cafés and restaurants, make this seven-hectare district a legendary place with a unique charm. With nearly 5 million visitors per year, the Paris Saint-Ouen Flea Market is one of the capital's top tourist attractions.

In order to ensure the sustainability of this unique place in a rapidly changing territory, the MAP (Association du Marché aux Puces) submitted an application in 2024 to register the Puces de Paris Saint-Ouen on the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The Flea Festival

Every year at the end of the summer, the Puces ensemble offers the public a great evening. Named 50 years ago The World of Antiquity, the event has become The Flea FestivalEach market is doubling its inventiveness to offer an original program and make this festival a special opportunity to discover or rediscover the Puces de Paris Saint-Ouen.

Les Puces is tradition without convention, humor and derision, friendship and complicity, talent and rarity, the breathtaking and modesty, the sad and the joyful […].

Inès de la Fressange, The Paris Flea Market,
The Patron Editions

A century-old institution in constant evolution

Since its creation, Biron has forged its identity and reputation around ancient arts, in particular the 19th century, the Napoleon III style and painting.

In 2017, the new management committee, chaired by Éloïse Mouchet and managed by Medhy Allaouchiche Gerault, wanted to expand Biron's offering while maintaining its specificity. Responding to the high standards that have made its reputation, new galleries have flourished on the market. These include Galerie Sebban and Galerie Belle Époque, specializing in contemporary art, Antiquités Lassaussois, specializing in stained glass, Galerie Cristo, specializing in Asian art, and L'Atelier du temps, which restores and presents collector's watches. Biron now brings together art, furniture, tableware, Asian art, luxury goods and jewelry from the XNUMXth century to the present day.

Young merchants have chosen Biron to set up shop, such as Benjamin Gastaud (BG Arts), Corentin Leclercq and Marius Simon, embodying the new generation of antique dealers on the market.

The evolution of Biron is also part of the broader evolution of the district.

In 2023, a major high-end complex was built opposite the Biron market, offering private apartments, offices, workshops, shops, a hotel and private and public parking lots. A wind of modernity is blowing through the legendary Puces district. The shopping streets stretch towards the North-West and the center of the city of Saint-Ouen, which has been undergoing a real transformation for several years.

Eloise
speckled

President

The link between Éloïse Mouchet and Biron goes back four generations. The market was created on land belonging to her family, which now owns Biron.

She began working alongside her father in 2010 and became President of the market in 2017.

medhy allaouchiche gérault

General Manager

At the head of several companies and a non-profit association, Medhy
Allaouchiche Gerault, also took over the management of Biron in 2017.

By preserving the soul of the market which has become an institution, it works towards the diversification of its offer, its dynamism and its modernization.