Saint Ouen

I briefly mentioned the St. Ouen flea market in the post below. If you're interested in the rag-and-bone men that founded arguably the first flea market, check out this website, which has an engaging history. A selection from it:

The history of the Flea Market goes back several centuries. It is inseparable from the history of the rag-and-bone men, who were to be found in the shadow of the so-called "fortifs", or fortifications.

Known variously as "biffins", "chiftires", "crocheteurs" (pickers) or, more poetically, "pêcheurs de lune" (moon fishermen), the rag-and-bone men travelled through the city by night, searching for old objects that had been thrown out with the rubbish, which they would then resell on the local markets. Because they were often associated with the inhabitants of the "Cour des Miracles", an area of Paris frequented by beggars and thieves, the rag-and-bone men were driven out of the city by the new city authorities towards the end of the 19th century. They therefore formed small groups and pursued their activities on the other side of the fortifs, near the city gates of Montreuil, Vanves, Kremlin Bicêtre and Clignancourt. Gradually, a number of the craftier of these "moon fishermen" were able to become, in a sense, self-employed bric-a-brac traders.

Strangely fascinating stuff, at least for my simple mind.