Is Paris's 11th arrondissement becoming a little Amsterdam?

To the east of Paris, between Bastille and Belleville, the 11th arrondissement is turning into a 420 Hood. Rue de la Roquette leads to one of the most popular bookshops in France. cannabis-friendly of Paris, the Lady Long Solo, while rue Pache has been the delight of thousands of cannabis enthusiasts since the opening of the Musée du Fumeur in 2001, not to mention the adjoining Culture Indoor.

For the past 6 months, strange stores have been springing up around these two historic sites, with one thing in common: the sale of cannabis-derived products, and even cannabis itself.

Rue Popincourt is Root's Seeds who has set up shop. A small, clean CBD store, Fred sells balms, crystals and oils, as well as the collector's seeds and CBD flowers that are the focus of so much attention today. The franchise is sourced in Luxembourg and offers ACDC with 22% CBD, tangerine flavours and proper paperwork.

A little further on, rue de la Folie-Méricourt, FrenchFarm.ac has developed the first CBD concept store. In a sophisticated setting, the shop offers top-of-the-range CBD-infused products, in addition to its agency activity for cannabis players in France and Europe. E-liquids, organic oils, lean natural products, cookies, chocolate and marmalade are presented on Japanese-style wooden stands, with attention to detail from the producer to the final packaging.

And yesterday, the Cofyshop has opened its doors on rue Amelot. With a constant queue of over 50 people, the coffee shop sells its Fedora and Felina hemp flowers for between €12 and €16 a gram. There's little smell to the nose, but the visuals are attractive. The CBD hash, on the other hand, smells strongly of lemon, with a green-yellow color. All the gestures and presentation are in keeping with the codes of Amsterdam coffees, except that the weed sold will not produce any psychotropic effects, and the glass jars containing the hash are marked «Do not smoke». Super Skunk and others Northern Light borrowed names.

Other franchises are currently eyeing the 11th to set up their CBD flower stores. Could the district become Amsterdam light?