Paris (AFP)

On the eve of its reopening after 750 million euros of work and 16 years of closure, La Samaritaine was inaugurated by Emmanuel Macron who on Monday hailed the rebirth of a "formidable French heritage treasure", including its owner LVMH wants to make it a "must-see for tourists" place.

The 800 or so employees of the store, standing in the masterful staircase with forged ironwork and wearing the house uniform - sailor and navy blue blazer - applauded the arrival of the President of the Republic alongside Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH, the group that owns La Samaritaine.

"There is a French art of living here", affirmed Mr. Macron in the vast hall, welcoming "the fruit of hard work, 16 years of dogged work" to renovate a "formidable French heritage treasure", in the presence Mr. Arnault, his wife and children, the mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo.

Closed in 2005 for safety reasons related to its dilapidation, the famous store facing the Seine, at the Pont Neuf, was to reopen in 2020 for its 150th anniversary.

A project prevented by the Covid-19 pandemic, an additional adventure on the path strewn with pitfalls that this site has experienced.

The store occupies 20,000 m2 - against 30,000 m2 at the time of closure -, houses some 600 luxury brands combining fashion, lifestyle and gastronomy and two "concept stores", said Eléonore de Boysson, responsible for Europe and the Middle East of DFS, the selective distribution branch of LVMH, which manages La Samaritaine.

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"It will be a year or two before tourists return" after the Covid-19 pandemic, she said, claiming to expect "five million visitors" per year, eventually.

"We want the Parisians to reclaim" the store in the meantime, declared Ms. de Boysson, for whom "we will no longer find everything at the Samaritaine, but we will find all of Paris at the Samaritaine".

Coming with Brigitte Macron, the president praised the "excellence" of the luxury group LVMH which, according to him, defends "French know-how" and "creates jobs everywhere in our territories".

"We are preparing the revival, with also this evening the Music Festival" after 15 months of pandemic, summarized Mr. Macron.

For billionaire Bernard Arnault, the event marks the end of "this crisis which has hit the world and our country".

"Only a family group could embark on such an investment with no return for 15 years," he said.

- "At the time more popular" -

LVMH became the majority shareholder in the loss-making department store in 2001, and had great difficulty getting its project through, including a luxury hotel under its Cheval Blanc brand, with 72 rooms and suites with a bird's eye view of the Seine, which will open on September 7.

From 2012 to 2015, the work had been suspended by appeals from heritage preservation associations, which notably challenged the creation of a contemporary glass facade, on the rue de Rivoli side.

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Four restaurants, including a gourmet one run by Michelin-starred chef Arnaud Donckele, have also been created.

Ultimately, the site will employ around 3,000 people between its store, that of the Uniqlo brand, its luxury hotel, its restaurants and offices.

It also hosts a neighborhood crèche and 97 social housing units.

The four buildings, some of the jewels of Art Nouveau and Art Deco, have undergone a major restructuring which had to respect and enhance the period elements: mosaics, enamels, glass roofs or wrought iron railings.

“Today, it's a renaissance,” Mourad Khati, 53, collection manager and one of the few original employees still present, told AFP. 'interval.

"I entered at 21, arriving from my Kabylia" he remembers, nostalgic.

"At the time, it was more popular. Today, it's very upscale."

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Also back, Xavière Canali, 44, HR manager of the store, specifies that if about fifty people "were interviewed after wishing to come back", some may have become discouraged because "the sales teams speak at least three languages ".

Less than ten work again at the Samaritaine, out of 734 employees, almost all of whom have been reclassified or have benefited from measures provided for by the Employment Protection Plan (PSE).

© 2021 AFP