Monday, February 24, Paris, 1st arrondissement. Due to the redevelopment of the neighborhood, the Rue de Richelieu has been under construction, blocked off during the day, for over a month. This hasn't made it any easier for delivery trucks to approach the site. Forced to arrive at the crack of dawn, they nevertheless unloaded their goods in large numbers at number 19, the address of the new Merci store, simply christened Merci#2.
With just a few days to go before the March 3 opening, there was a hive of activity going on. The various sales areas were being laid out and filled, and some staff members were putting the finishing touches to the staging, unfazed and diligent: Here, a member of the decorating team painted the cupboards in "La Baigneuse" blue, or "Fusain des bois" gray (from Ressource Peintures); there, New York painter Emma Jaeger, headphones on and fine brush in hand, was drawing a shelf full of books on the wall, trompe-l'œil style.
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