At Les Halles, in Paris, young people on the lookout for the slightest TikTok contest
It has become Karim’s favorite pastime. At 14, this Parisian teenager, educated in 4th grade in a college in the capital, wanders alone, sometimes with his friends, around the Forum des Halles (I). That Monday, the boy, on vacation, tried his luck again between rue Pierre-Lescot and rue Berger. In front of the Nike store, the Eleven Paris brand is giving away a bag with two pieces of clothing from its latest winter collection.
“For three months, I come on Wednesday afternoons after school and on Saturdays. During the holidays, I go there about every two days, explains Karim, frustrated at not having participated in the video of the Parisian brand. A few weeks ago, I won 10 euros by standing for more than five seconds on a ball. Like him, there are many of them, most of them very young, watching film shoots in Les Halles. With the hope of passing on the chinese platform to almost 2 billion users and above all to win a ticket or a gift.
“What we want is to make money! »
“We often come back empty-handed,” blows Ryan, 12, accompanied by his friend of the same age. 5th grade students, they go to Les Halles every day from Montrouge (Hauts-de-Seine). “What we want is to make money! Lucas, 21, living in Essonne, sets the same goal. That day, he was interviewed by Le Mendell, an 18-year-old tiktokeur followed by more than 56,000 people on the social network. “As soon as I see a micro-sidewalk, I approach. I see it very often, I have already participated but I have never won anything yet, ”he is impatient.
“Tiktokers? We see them every day here, ”remarks Julia, 19, who works in catering at Charles-de-Gaulle-Étoile. It crosses the famous commercial square in downtown Paris daily. And she also lends herself to the game this Monday by participating in the “Right Price” offered by Eleven Paris. “I did not find the right amount (194 euros). In a few seconds, it’s not that simple. The next group won the gift. I try from time to time to participate in passing. »
For Erwan, 14, it’s “harmful”
There is at least one who does not have the same opinion as his comrades. Erwan, 14, condemns these practices. ” It is bad for young people, he emphasizes emphatically. I know some who come from Seine-et-Marne to Châtelet in the hope of earning money through vox pops. Do not believe that the creators are there every day, they shoot half a day and cut into several excerpts that they publish over a week. »
