Divorce mela in city of love

Updated on: 09 November,2009 08:23 AM IST |
Agencies |

The city of romance got a lesson in love's hard knocks yesterday, as would-be divorces flocked by the thousands to the French capital's first annual divorce fair.

The city of romance got a lesson in love's hard knocks yesterday, as would-be divorces flocked by the thousands to the French capital's first annual divorce fair.

In France, nearly one out of two marriages ends in divorce, according to the country's National Institute of Demographic Studies.
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More than 1,30,000 divorces were registered in 2007, as compared to just 50,000 three decades ago.

The New Start trade fair aimed to tap into that booming market by offering services obviously related to separation law firms and counsellors and also more obscure disciplines aimed at helping people get back on their feet, like tarot card readers, makeover specialists and self-esteem coaches.

Conferences held during the two-day-long fair included talks like 'Plastic surgery's role in re-conquering your image', 'How to re-seduce your partner using the Gestalt method,' 'Meeting on the Web' and 'Separation: What does a lawyer do?'

The fair's organiser, Brigitte Gaumet, said she had the idea for the event after President Nicolas Sarkozy divorced his second wife months after taking office in 2007.

"For me, that crystalised that divorce has lost its stigma and is really a commonplace thing," said Gaumet.

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