French President visits Cetelem’s stand
In post-war France, Jacques de Fouchier, inspired by American methods, had a project: to enable the French to access comfort through credit.
On May 6, 1953, Cetelem was established, marking the emergence of a new profession in France: consumer credit.
In this 1954 photograph taken at the Salon des Arts Ménagers on the Cetelem stand, French President René Coty consecrates the legitimacy of this brand new sector.
THE ‘SALON DES ARTS MÉNAGERS’ IN THE 1950S
Created in 1923, the Salon des Arts Ménagers was an annual exhibition in Paris showcasing innovations in housing and equipment. It reached a record attendance in the mid-1950s, with 1 million visitors in 1950 and up to 1,416,000 entries in 1962.
The Salon des Arts Ménagers was a meeting place between science, industry, and design, and played a significant role in the social revolution of everyday practices. It allowed for the presentation of innovations that changed people’s lives, such as washing machines and bidets.
It definitively closed its doors in 1983.
