the La Défense district in the midst of a crisis

In La Défense, the towers reaching into the sky have long symbolized the success of large French companies. But Tuesday, November 26, the business district is in crisis. At the foot of the buildings, dozens of businesses, restaurants and hairdressers have closed. Shopping malls are completely empty. Companies and their employees have deserted La Défense. “Last Friday, we had 47 seats, in a room with 200 seats, and it’s been like that since teleworking,” explains Sylvain Marillier, restaurateur.

First affected by the crisis, traders took inventory of unoccupied towers. Many towers, which are too old, are no longer up to standard and construction sites have been at a standstill since Covid. Thousands of square meters of office space remain unoccupied. In total, 14% of the surfaces are vacant. In Paris, only 4% of offices are empty. The sale price of an empty tower to be rehabilitated has collapsed.

Watch the full report in the video above.