Catalysts for community relations
Interview with Yorick Berger, owner of Pharmacy F, 141 Avenue de France and Wendy Boulanger, resident of the Tolbiac quarter, creator of cooperative vegetable gardens.
We opened the pharmacy in 2020.
We already had one in the neighborhood but it was on a street that lacked visibility, and physical locations are extremely important in our line of business. Today, our premises are on a busy street with lots of passers-by and we have a lot of space, which enables us to offer a wider range of services. The advantage of the neighborhood is the diversity of its population: there are residential buildings, shops, offices… We opened at the beginning of the Covid crisis and, for the local residents, we were like an oasis in the desert and now we’ve got to know them very well. We chat a lot together. It’s a lively neighborhood that’s never the same from one time of day to the next. You feel that people are adopting it as their very own.
Owner of Pharmacy F, 141 Avenue de France
After 20 years living in the 12th arrondissement of Paris,
we had the possibility of moving into a larger apartment in the Tolbiac quarter with our three grown children. Although we were a little hesitant at first, we ended up moving in May 2022 and quickly fell in love with the place! The neighborhood is very lively, cosmopolitan, transgenerational, and offers a blend of different populations and energies along with a number of major venues (the BnF national French library, the cinema complex, the universities, etc.) along with restaurants, local activities – I love the dancers on the quays –, associations, easy access to public spaces, etc. We were a little reticent about the ‘mineral’ aspect of the architecture but, in fact, the quarter is airy with a lot of green spaces, the River Seine, and places of more historical importance nearby (Chevaleret, Rue de Tolbiac, etc.). We have the feeling that lots of things are happening in this part of Paris.
Resident of the Tolbiac quarter, creator of cooperative vegetable gardens
