Bourse du Commerce, Paris

Tavik Frantisek Simon

This image is a street level view of the Bourse du Commerce, the 'Commodities Exchange', in Paris, a circular building plan with a dome located rue de Viarmes, in the 1st arrondissement of Paris. The building was ravaged by fire in 1854. The 'Corn Exchange', whose activity had been declining, was closed in 1873 and the building was awarded in 1885 to the Chamber of Commerce, which was redesigned into the commodity exchange by architect Henri Blondel (1821-1897).

Blondel changed the iron and glass dome, closed the lower part of a brickwork and dressed the entire stone building. Previously, the commodity exchange was housed in the premises of the Palais Brongniart 3. The building was inaugurated September 24, 1889. The city of Paris has transferred the ownership of the building to the Chamber of Commerce, for a symbolic franc in 1949. The dome and décor are classified historic monument since 1986. Important work restoration were executed in 1989.

Many futures markets functioned at the Commodities Exchange since its inception, first under the control of trade unions. Thus it was the seat of commerce of wheat, rye and oats, flours, oils, sugars, alcohols and rubber. The collapse of wheat prices in 1929 led to the reform of 1935 created the Commissioners of the Company confirmed by law in 1950.

After the Second World War, the futures markets were opened gradually on international and various goods, white sugar, cocoa, coffee (together with Le Havre), potato (with Tourcoing), soybean meal, rapeseed were batch processed at the auction. The negotiations were managed and controlled successively by the Chartered Brokers Company, the Central Bank Compensation and MATIF (Marché International Terme to France). With the computerization of futures markets, market activity of goods ended in 1998 at the Bourse de Commerce de Paris. The exchange continues as an electronic market within Euronext.