The group owner of the famous store with the pink gingham store announced Tuesday the closure of its last site, opened in 1948. For the inhabitants of the district of Barbès, in Paris, where Tati has been part of the landscape for decades, this announcement aroused a strong emotion.

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It's a page that turns in the popular district of Barbès, in the north of Paris. The famous Tati store will close its doors. The period of strikes and confinement will have had the brand already in difficulty. It is the end of an institution that opened here in 1948. So decided Tuesday the GPG group, which made the announcement. In the neighborhood, customers and residents are in shock.

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"Even if we did not live here, we came for Tati, what. Me, it pains me that it leaves, sincerely," says Sana. This pink vichy sign, for this mother, is a family story. She and her parents crossed the Paris region for Tati Barbès. Forty years later, this is where she takes her daughter. "I remember, I came with my dad, I was 8 years old, we came to buy a dress for me, to attend a wedding. In Algeria, in Morocco, in Tunisia, it is known worldwide Tati, It’s going to be very bizarre Barbès without Tati. It’s a real change for us, the people of the neighborhood.

"They have not been able to renew themselves over time"

In the aisles of this Ali Baba cave at bargain prices, customers are now rare. Since October 2019, sales have dropped 60%. "You no longer see people going out with 2-3 bags like we used to do," confirms Régine, a regular, who herself only bought a few things. "Honestly, I am not surprised that it closes. What has changed is the quality of things. They have not been able to renew themselves over time. It is a shame for the workers."

Workers still in shock and avoiding microphones and cameras. The 34 employees of the store risk being dismissed. "We're going to fight," said a union representative, before admitting: "The chances of reclassification are slim."