The Rungis International Market (, ) is the principal wholesale market of
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
and mainly deals in food and horticultural products. It is located in the
commune of
Rungis
Rungis () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France, in the department of Val-de-Marne, Île-de-France.
It is best known as the location of the large wholesale food market serving the Paris metropolitan area and beyond, the '' Mar ...
, in the southern suburbs. It is the second largest
wholesale food market in the world (after
Central de Abasto in
Mexico City
Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...
, which has an area of ).
History
From its origins in the 10th century to the mid-20th century, the central market of Paris was located in the centre of the city, in a area named
Les Halles
Les Halles (; 'The Halls') was Paris' central fresh food market. It last operated on 12 January 1973 and was replaced by an underground shopping centre and a park. The unpopular modernist development was demolished yet again in 2010, and replac ...
. That became too small to accommodate all of the business demand, and, in 1969, the market was transferred to the suburbs. Rungis was selected because of its easy access by
rail and
highway
A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...
and its proximity to
Orly International Airport.
On 25 September 2022, the market caught fire.
Ownership
The market is the property of the French State and administered by the Semmaris (''Société d'Économie Mixte d'Aménagement et de gestion du marché d'intérêt national de Rungis'').
Statistics
*the complex covers and is slightly larger than the Principality of Monaco;
*13,000 people work there every day;
*26,000 vehicles enter every day (of which 3,000 are heavy trucks);
*1,698,000 tonnes of products are brought in annually;
*it has the largest turnover of wholesale markets in the world.
References
External links
Official website of the market
Official website of the market
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rungis International Market
Squares in Paris
Food markets
1969 establishments in France