Hidden away in a grid of narrow streets not far from the Opéra is Paris's central auction house, selling everything from stamps and toy soldiers to Renoirs and Art Nouveau commodes. You can walk in off the street and browse through the open salesrooms -- there's no obligation to bid. The mix of ladies in fur coats with money to burn, penniless art lovers desperate to unearth an unidentified masterpiece, and scruffy dealers trying to look anonymous makes up Drouot's unusually rich social fabric. Anyone can attend the sales and viewings. For centuries the French government refused to allow foreign firms to stage auctions, but that changed in 2001, and Drouot faces stiff competition from Sotheby's and Christie's, who are now established in Paris.
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