Marie Gicquel, edited by Yanis Darras 10:06 a.m., March 15, 2023
Fake bags, fake watches... Counterfeits are sometimes more present around us than you might think.
So, at the counterfeiting museum in Paris, dozens of objects are on display and advice offered, to best guide visitors to learn the right reflexes.
It is an unusual brown museum.
Nestled in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, the museum of counterfeiting attracts nearly 10,000 curious people each year.
In the corridors of the establishment, body creams, toys and even chainsaws are displayed.
Only one particularity: all these objects are copies.
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A multitude of products
“Who can imagine that there can be counterfeit chainsaws?”, has fun at the microphone of Europe 1, Delphine Sarfati-Sobreira, the director of the museum.
And counterfeit products, there are dozens!
Shampoo bottles, for example, "customs seize hundreds of thousands of them every year. These are products that are not tested, in which a certain number of products are missing, such as anti-allergens for example. And they may have dramatic consequences," she said.
In the windows, visitors will also be able to find the stars of the counterfeits: luxury bags, watches, sneakers, perfumes, and even copies of some master paintings, such as "this fake Matisse, which the court gave us and which was found by someone at his grandfather's house", underlines Delphine Sarfati-Sobreira.
Buy the right product in the right place
An astonishing museum but full of advice, even though 37% of consumers who bought a counterfeit thought they were getting the genuine one.
Among the good tips to apply, you have to "ask yourself when you buy a product, if you are buying it in the right place. If you have any doubts, there is a risk", specifies the director. of the establishment.
And some take advantage of their visit to also deposit counterfeit products there.
The museum then takes care of sending them directly for destruction, thus facilitating the process for visitors.