La Samaritaine, department store by the Pont Neuf since 1870

La Samaritaine, the department store on the Rue de la Monnaie by the Seine, began in March 1870, when Ernest Cognacq opened a small shop, À La Samaritaine, in an annexe on the street. In 1872 he married Marie-Louise Jaÿ, and together they built the business.

In 1900 it became the Grands Magasins de La Samaritaine. Frantz Jourdain rebuilt store 2 between 1905 and 1910, and Henri Sauvage extended it in 1928, the year Cognacq died. In 1985, when Christo wrapped the nearby Pont Neuf, the store launched a new advertising campaign.

The Renand family sold the business to LVMH in 2001. The store closed on 15 June 2005 for safety work and renovation. It reopened on 23 June 2021, with 10,000 m² of selling space instead of 30,000, and 96 social housing units in the same complex.

Between the Pont Neuf and the Rue de Rivoli, Frantz Jourdain’s store 2, listed as a historic monument in 1990, welcomes visitors once more, and the department store, run by DFS, is open every day.