For 25 years, Katia Barillot has watched her Parisian neighborhood – Le Marais – evolve from a working class enclave to a trendy scene with luxury boutiques and chic art galleries. After working as a columnist, presenter, and journalist for companies like Canal+, France 3, and TV5Monde, Barillot decided to launch her own publication that focuses on the Marais which she describes as “the historical core of France.”
In 2019, Barillot co-founded Marais Mood, a digital media platform dedicated to the Marais and Paris Centre, where she is editor-in-chief. In terms of coverage, the publication captures a wide swath of neighborhood comings and goings. Recent stories include a Valentine’s Day themed listicle for “The best romantic restaurants in the Marais”, a profile on artist Katarina Axelsson whose work is displayed in the local Galerie FELLI, and an exploration of the Marais’s Asian heritage in “The real Chinatown of Paris is in the Marais”.
Sitting by the glass windows of her informal office – the neighbourhood’s Café de la Perle – Barillot shared her journey running Marais Mood against the backdrop of a recent gloomy January evening.
What prompted you to launch an online newspaper about Le Marais?
I decided I’m going to do what I like, and what I do anyway is talking with people and learning about the neighborhood. So, I thought, “Why not translate this into media?” Because when I’m looking for information online about Le Marais, I don’t find anything interesting.
There is something special and original which is primarily due to these beautiful buildings around here. That’s the Musée des Archives Nationales (pointing across the street) where the diary of the beheaded King Louis XVI is.
How have changes in the neighborhood impacted your reporting?
Le Marais could not have existed 15 years ago because this trendy, gritty, street meets fashion meets art ecosystem, that our media reflects, did not exist. When we arrived here, there were three or four restaurants. It was dead at night. But then the real estate market took off and Le Marais changed progressively.
Through this change, I’m looking for the authentic people who actually do something, not the big brands coming in. We are more for the independent shops which tend to disappear. We don’t focus on filming the flowers of a café like influencers do because we think it’s fake and just for tourists. Our stories are genuine and reflect on the real people here.
What is your process for finding stories?
The two main tools are your eyes and your ears. I go to this café, and other places around the neighbourhood, and I talk with people. They teach me a lot about what’s happening in Le Marais, and about new and old stories.
Who is your target audience?
I speak for people: it’s local and global. When I travel, I always do a mix of what tourists and locals do. I go to the supermarket, and perhaps I do not understand the language, but I watch the TV. And for my work, it’s the same thing. I do things for people who live here and for people who don’t live here.
My audience is currently 60% women and 20% international, though, we would like more international readers because that’s where the market is.
Edited for space and clarity