The French government's intention to sell the Tuileries Garden was not a novel idea. In fact, when the French government first announced this decision seven or eight years prior, it had already caused a significant stir. News media at the time had extensively covered the debate over whether the Tuileries Garden should be sold, and a public opinion poll was even conducted.
The results astonishingly revealed that over 80% of the public supported the sale of the Tuileries Garden, arguing that it would save government expenditure and increase funding for infrastructure development.
As for the Tuileries Garden itself, it was merely a royal palace. What relevance did it have to ordinary citizens or immigrants from Africa?
Furthermore, the Tuileries Garden was not freely open to the public when managed by the authorities. It charged an entrance fee, and on many occasions, it was not open to the public at all, preventing people from enjoying its beauty. Therefore, its closure or sale meant little to them.
If this were to happen in China, it was estimated that 90% of the public would oppose the sale. This only goes to show that France has its own unique national conditions, which is why the French President readily agreed to the sale. Since the public supported it, he did not have to worry about public opposition.
However, when the Tuileries Garden was actually sold, and rumor had it that the buyer was a Chinese enterprise, public opinion naturally ignited.
Fortunately, this time, the public opinion did not exhibit obvious opposing sentiments. There were no remarks like "Foreigners have no right to buy French imperial palaces" or "Selling the Tuileries Garden is equivalent to selling the entire nation."
Moreover, the authorities were well-prepared. After the news broke, the spokesperson for the President's office immediately held a press conference to elaborate on the details of the acquisition to the public.
For instance, the buyer had signed a cultural heritage protection agreement, prohibiting any damage to historical relics within the garden. The buyer also pledged to continue opening the garden to the public, allowing ordinary citizens to visit.
Most importantly, the government would receive an income of up to 1 billion U.S. dollars, which could be invested in social welfare funds, ultimately benefiting the people.
This press conference provided ample explanation and further eased some of the public's dissatisfaction. Coupled with the fact that Sino-French relations were indeed quite good at the time, the overall social feedback was predominantly positive.
Concurrently, the French public became more curious about this Chinese enterprise and the Chinese individuals who spent 1 billion U.S. dollars to acquire a garden.
Consequently, the news media quickly seized upon the public's curiosity and began to investigate various aspects of Huang He and Jiangnan Group.
In 2003, when the internet was not yet as developed, cross-border information gathering of this nature was relatively difficult. However, with the assistance of some enthusiastic individuals, the media soon collected a large amount of detailed information about Jiangnan Group and reported it extensively.
Thus, the audience learned that Jiangnan Group was a leather enterprise from China, officially known as Jiangnan Leather Factory.
The founder of Jiangnan Group, the Huang family, was a family of tanners with a 300-year history in China. They had crafted exquisite leather goods for the Chinese imperial family and were a true century-old enterprise, even older than the Tuileries Garden.
Later, with China's reform and opening up, the 12th-generation descendant of the Huang family, Mr. Huang Yuanfa, founded Jiangnan Leather Factory. However, it faced the risk of bankruptcy until Mr. Huang He, who had studied in France, took over the management of Jiangnan Group upon his return to China, ultimately leading Jiangnan Group to rise against the trend and become an internationally renowned luxury group for leather and apparel!
The content was roughly as described, with the specific news reports providing much richer details, such as how the Huang family had served the imperial family in the past.
Or how astonishing the leather goods produced by Jiangnan Group were.
And how the apparel from Jiangnan Group was greatly favored by princesses, such as the red traditional Chinese ceremonial dress that dazzled all of Europe at an celebration event in Italy this year.
Of course, for those familiar with Jiangnan Group, readers would know that 80% of the information above was fabricated.
And for Chinese people reading this news, they would also know that about 50% of the content was fabricated.
However, for the French, this was as true as it could be. After all, they were unlikely to investigate the specific details of Jiangnan Group. For 99.99% of the French public, they would simply believe whatever the news media reported.
Moreover, in their view, it was more acceptable for a family with a rich history to take over the Tuileries Garden.
In short, the French public readily believed the news reports about Jiangnan Group.
Would the media not discover that this information was flawed?
They were certainly aware that the information was questionable, a mix of truth and falsehood. But it didn't matter. The key was that Jiangnan Group had gradually signed cooperation agreements with several media outlets, planning to advertise on these major media platforms in the future.
Simultaneously, the French authorities also pressured these media outlets, urging them not to report negative news about Jiangnan Group, or the deal would fall through, tarnishing the reputation of these politicians. The media outlets naturally understood what they should do.
With the cooperation from all sides, in the minds of all French people, Jiangnan Group became a century-old brand from China with a 300-year history.
It was also one of the few local luxury groups in China, producing aristocratic attire from the mysterious East.
Soon, this news and perception spread from France to all of Europe, and even to the distant United States. The world learned that China had an extremely wealthy luxury company named Jiangnan Group, capable of purchasing former French palaces.
For a luxury brand, the most challenging aspect is to make people believe in its high premium brand value. While this goal may not have been fully achieved for Jiangnan Group, when it launched an outfit or bag priced at 10,000 Euros, not everyone in Europe would find it ridiculous. Instead, they would genuinely believe that the clothing was indeed worth that price.
And now
The world knows how much prejudice and misunderstanding the West has towards China, and how much they misunderstand modern China.
After all, 80% of Westerners' understanding of China comes from a book called "The Travels of Marco Polo," and the China depicted in this book is much like how Chinese people viewed America in the 1990s.
In summary, while the lack of understanding and prejudice towards China seemed detrimental, conversely, due to this lack of understanding, they also believed that China possessed many mysterious and unfathomable existences. It all depended on how the media was utilized for promotion.
Of course, these are all later developments. After the French government announced the sale of the Tuileries Garden, the entire Tuileries Garden was thrown into a state of panic.
There were over two hundred employees at the Tuileries Garden, working for a government-operated enterprise specifically tasked with maintaining the garden.
Now, everyone was filled with unease, unsure of their fate.
Similar to state-owned enterprises in China, the employees working at the Tuileries Garden generally enjoyed a stable life, holding "iron rice bowls." As long as no major changes occurred, their lifelong needs, from birth to death, were taken care of by the Tuileries Garden Management Company.
However, a major change had indeed occurred. The Tuileries Garden was sold, and they were to have a new owner. The future was uncertain.
"I'm telling you, half of us will be replaced this time!" someone confidently shared insider information.
"No, I heard that everyone might be replaced, and they'll bring in cheap Chinese workers. You know, those Chinese workers can work overtime without complaint and don't take holidays. They're like donkeys. Chinese bosses will definitely use Chinese workers!"
Rumors like these were rife, causing widespread fear throughout the Tuileries Garden. Even the progress of setting up the main stage for Paris Fashion Week was affected, leading the site supervisor to shout in frustration.
After all, in two days, Paris Fashion Week would commence, and the first major show would begin.
Amidst this chaos, a large convoy drove into the Tuileries Garden. The first person to disembark was the head of the Paris Municipal Department, who, upon arrival, demanded that all employees be gathered for a meeting. Accompanying him were several individuals with distinctly Eastern features.
"The Chinese are here!" This news quickly spread throughout the Tuileries Garden. All the staff, with worried hearts, hurried to the meeting room, not daring to delay.
Once everyone was assembled, the head of the Municipal Department began his address, stating that Jiangnan Group had completed most of the procedures, and the 1 billion U.S. dollars had been received. Therefore, the Municipal Department would now hand over the management rights of the Tuileries Garden to Jiangnan Group, and everyone should follow the orders of the Chinese representatives.
"They have the right to decide if you stay here to work. If they deem some individuals unsuitable, please leave quietly, and come to the company in a few days to process your resignation. We will provide compensation in accordance with laws and regulations!" The municipal official's words sent everyone's hearts plummeting once more.
However, some individuals gleaned from his words that while some were unsuitable, others were certainly suitable, and they would continue to work at the Tuileries Garden.
It was just unknown what the treatment would be for those who remained at the Tuileries Garden, and how they should make their choices. Everyone had their own thoughts and fears, and they all looked with a degree of admiration at the Chinese man standing in the center.