Teddy bears of the Gobelins

In October 2018, the owner of a book shop in the Gobelins neighbourhood in the 13th arrondissement of Paris began lending out oversized teddy bears.

Philippe Labourel, the owner of a book shop at 25 Avenue des Gobelins,[2][3] posed a large teddy bear in his window in June 2018[4] and in mid-October began making them available on request for 48 hours and posting the resulting photos on social media.

[1][7] Initially offered to six neighbouring businesses,[8] they have since been sighted in all the other businesses on the avenue,[3] at bus stops, on the sign pole of the Métro station, in the windows of the mairie (town hall) of the 13th arrondissement,[9] on the Place d'Italie, 37 were photographed in the windows of the Grand Hôtel des Gobelins,[2][10] and a police station borrowed two and named them Starsky and Hutch.

[1][2][11][12] On the associated Facebook page, which is run by a local pharmacist[3] and had 225,000 views as of 22 November 2018[update],[10][12] photos and videos by borrowers have been uploaded of the bears seeing the sights of Paris, riding around on a scooter, drinking at a bar and suffering the after-effects, and being treated for injuries at a clinic.

[1][13] At the end of the Christmas season in January 2019, the bears went into hibernation after a goodbye dinner at a local restaurant held on New Year's Day[14] and a final appearance at the mairie.