In France, nearly one out of two marriages ends in divorce, according to the country's National Institute of Demographic Studies. More than 130,000 divorces were registered in 2007, compared with just 50,000 three decades ago.

The "New Start" trade fair aimed to tap into that booming market by bringing together 60 stands offering services obviously related to separation - law firms and counselors - and also more obscure disciplines aimed at helping people get back on their feet, like tarot card readers, makeover specialists, and self-esteem coaches.

Conferences held throughout the two-day-long fair included talks titled "Plastic surgery's role in reconquering your image" and "How to reseduce your partner using the Gestalt method," as well as "Separation: What does a lawyer do?"

Organizer Brigitte Gaumet said she had the idea for the event after President Nicolas Sarkozy divorced his second wife months after taking office in 2007. "For me, that crystalized that divorce has lost its stigma and is really a commonplace thing," Gaumet said. "Lots of people going through divorces, and also people getting separated or who are widowed, are looking for information on how to bounce back and how to reconstruct.

"We have long had the Marriage Fair," a large annual trade fair in Paris catering to brides-to-be, "and I thought, 'Why not a fair for people going through separations?' "

Charles Rene and Verena Carlo were among the rare couples waiting in a long line to talk to a lawyer. Married - but not to each other - they were about to leave their long-term partners and were seeking to make the process as painless as possible. "Choosing a lawyer can be really complicated, and this isn't the kind of thing you just want to pick someone randomly out of the yellow pages for," said Rene, 46, a father of two.

Carlo hailed the fair as a "good initiative to help people going through a hard time" but said she was put off by some of the services on offer.

"Just because you're going to a divorce doesn't mean you need to get laser hair removal or your fortune told," she said. "I think it's a bit weird, to be honest."