"We can truly speak of a gold rush", assures Antoine Tahar, of the agency "Godot & Fils".
Since the end of February and the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, more and more new customers looking for bullion have been pushing the doors of his agency, which specializes in the purchase of gold and silver.
An influx that allowed them to multiply their turnover by five in the space of a month.
“Every time we find ourselves in a war situation, for example, people who have cash will automatically want to protect it.
The idea is not to make their purchase of bullion or gold coins profitable, it's really to protect their savings by taking them out of the banks,” explains the branch manager.
Read alsoParis: discovery of a clandestine gold foundry
Among the new customers, the profiles are very varied.
"The modest buyers will rather move towards small coins or small ingots", explains Antoine Tahar.
From the 1 g mini-ingot, sold for 77 euros on March 22, 2022, to the large 1 kg ingot, sold around 57,000 euros on the same date, “Godot & Fils” has something to satisfy all budgets.
“Twenty years ago, that didn't exist,” he recalls, handling a 20g gold briquette between his fingers.
“But with strong global demand, foundries have decided to offer smaller ingot sizes,” he continues.
A few meters away, in front of the store front, a woman in her fifties is eyeing a Louis XII gold shield.
“I have old jewelry and a few small pieces to sell.
I'm looking in the window to see if I recognize them.
With what is happening, we will find ourselves in a slightly delicate period.
I prefer to plan ahead and know that if gold is high, it might be a good time to sell it,” she says.
Because with the strong demand, the price of gold has also soared.
“We have already experienced similar situations with the subprime crisis in 2008, and more recently with confinement,” recalls Antoine Tahar.