There is a mythical dimension to the avenue des Champs-Elysées (“The Elysian Fields”) known, proudly, by French people as la plus belle avenue du monde. This August, two Greek myths, Olympism and Elysium unite, briefly, in Paris. According to the International Olympic Committee Charter, “Olympism” is “a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will and mind” whilst Elysium has “beautiful fields of light and air where the favoured of Zeus maintain perfect happiness”. With less than four months until the 2024 Jeux Olympiques (JO), public and private stakeholders are now applying finishing touches to the mythical Champs-Elysées showcase.
The foundations of the avenue’s claim to world-class beauty are its perfect proportions. The length, breadth and slope create a grand architectural vista, bookended by the iconic Arc de Triomphe and Place de la Concorde. Officially designated in 2012 as a ZTI or “Zone Touristique Internationale”, the shops of the Champs-Elysées are permitted to stay open both seven days a week and late in the evenings, creating a huge pedestrian footfall, particularly on the even-numbered “sunny side”. Few Parisians, however, currently choose to visit “Les Champs”, unless it is to celebrate or to protest. Excluding those locals who work nearby, international visitors might make up 90% of the avenue’s daily footfall – which can peak at over half a million people at weekends.
Between the many pedestrians on the footpaths, some 3,000 motor vehicles an hour cruise up and down the centre of the avenue. Ten lanes of stop/start traffic create both noise and pollution. The air on the boulevard périphérique is currently cleaner than the Elysian Fields of Paris. The automobile has been a definite feature of the Champs-Elysées. Once, all major French motoring brands displayed their best products in prominent showrooms but now only L’Atelier Renault remains. In the green revolution of Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, the days of the ten-lane urban highway are also numbered.
Over 29 years living in Paris, the avenue des Champs-Elysées has meant many things to me. My happiest Champs-Elysées memory is being one of over a million euphoric revellers wandering up and down the avenue on a July night after Zidane’s France beat Brazil 3-0 to win their home football World Cup in 1998. By contrast, on most Monday mornings in the winter of 2018, my walks to work were down the damaged avenue after the weekend protests of Les Gilets Jaunes. Those Monday memories, however, proved less disturbing than the spooky emptiness I experienced during a Covid lockdown in 2020 when the vast avenue, peopled only by police officers checking papers, felt like the set of a sci-fi movie.
Politics are naturally important in steering such a very public domain. In 2020, the Comité Champs–Elysées (comprising key avenue stakeholders) completed an unprecedentedly large-scale public consultation, gathering over 100,000 opinions. The main conclusions were, on the one hand, criticism of the avenue’s noise, dirt, and “mineral” physical appearance and on the other, a wish for a leafier and “more authentic” future. The €30 million Phase One works include upgrading paving stones and street furniture and harmonising the look of restaurant terraces. Phase One will be complete by the JO late July whilst the more ambitious Phase Two is scheduled for 2030. That would cut motor traffic in half with only four car lanes plus wider, greener walkways and dedicated cycling lanes. Some radical proposals even call for a complete pedestrianisation of the Champs-Elysées in the manner of the rue de Rivoli – where Mayor Hidalgo’s recent transformation is still dividing opinions.
This renaissance of the public domain and the upcoming JO have been driving recent investment into shop fitouts along the Champs-Elysées. Maison Ladurée, especially popular with Asian and Middle Eastern visitors, is looking its best to sell the famous macarons in August. New entrant retailers, especially in luxury and sportswear, are seeking to plant a flag on the world stage and in the last two years, the Champs-Elysées has seen an unusually high volume of lettings. In luxury, Christian Dior are creating a statement store just as Louis Vuitton is extending its already successful flagship into an LVMH palace with a five-star luxury hotel. In this Olympic sporting year, “le sportswear” has surged with Adidas, JD Sports and Salomon all announcing flagship units. The avenue frequently appears on the Olympic podium for the world’s highest shop rents, which logically points to high footfall, high consumer spending, high end merchandising and high margins. All four are in place for many stores on the avenue.
There is, however, a cultural cost to these changes. What is striking is what these new retailer entrants are replacing. For a long time, the French notion of “culture” was the calling card of the avenue, a very important concept for a country which blocked the entire 1993 World Trade Agreement by insisting on cultural exception. For the Champs-Elysées, culture has meant books, records, theatres and films. Now, cinemas, like automobile stores, have been leaving the avenue. The iconic 1930’s Gaumont Marignan cinema recently announced closure and UGC Normandie is expected to follow soon. Instead of some 60 cinema screens up and down the avenue, film fans may shortly be left with only a handful. The FNAC store has also just announced closure in 2024, citing a lack of French clientèle on the Champs-Elysées. The FNAC’s bandes dessinées (hardback comic books such as Astérix) are very French cultural products. The avenue’s tourists are simply far more likely to understand what is sold in the nearby Apple Store. After years of strong political resistance to international brands, the paradox of France’s mythical avenue is that there are ever fewer French retailers trading there.
The concept of ‘balanced whole’ defined in the Olympic Charter is threatened by the Olympic renaissance of the Elysian Fields. Just as shopping centres need balanced merchandising, the 300 shops and restaurants on the Champs-Elysées may start to look and feel homogeneous, united in an ability to sustain top dollar rents. The choice of retail and entertainment is being uniformised like the avenue’s restaurant terraces. In the words of Joe Dassin’s classic 1969 song, ‘il y a tout ce que vous voulez aux Champs-Elysées’. Such variety is no longer there. After the Olympic/Paralympic party has ended in September, la plus belle avenue du monde will likely look even more beautiful and feel even less French.
