00:00And I'm joined in the studio now by Solange Mougin, because Solange, look, the closing
00:05of this cinema is one of a rather particular dynamic that we see on the Champs-Élysées
00:11where some businesses are booming, doing really well, others not at all. What's the problem
00:16and what's so particular on the Champs-Élysées?
00:17Well, first and foremost, it's the Champs, the iconic avenue that some call the most
00:22beautiful in the world. Now, after the Eiffel Tower, it is arguably the symbol of Paris.
00:28The rent prices there are, according to the firm Knight-Frank, three to five times higher
00:34than other tourist, busy tourist areas in the capital. Shop spaces go for around 15,000
00:40euros for one single square meter. Now, investment firms, Qatari funds, luxury brands that own
00:47or rent many of the buildings on the Champs know this, know that 10 million people come
00:54to it every year, but nearly all of them are tourists.
00:58From Bangkok, Thailand. Boston, United States. Reykjavik, Iceland.
01:04Ambergique. We're visiting Paris.
01:08This is the first place that we choose to come here.
01:12Delightful, the food, the people, the atmosphere.
01:17I love the buildings. The architecture is beautiful.
01:21Now, you won't find many Parisians on the Champs-Élysées today.
01:25Only around 5% of those walking along it are Parisians.
01:29It is largely snubbed by the people who live here as a polluted, big thoroughfare filled
01:36with big brand names and few cultural sites.
01:39So as the fifth most expensive avenue in the world, it has many of the same issues that
01:45others like it have, like Fifth Avenue, New York, Orchard Road in Singapore.
01:50It's become, to some, the epitome of excess, be it cars, consumerism, globalization and tourism.
01:57It wasn't always thus, though, Solange.
02:00Parisians didn't used to give it a cold shoulder.
02:03In fact, it used to be quite happening, didn't it, the Champs-Élysées?
02:05It was, just like in the famous song by Joe Dassin.
02:09And even actually more so in the choice of its actual name.
02:12Its namesake is the Elysian Fields in Greek mythology.
02:16The Champs-Élysées used to be a place that Parisians really wanted to go to.
02:21Nearly two kilometers in length and some 70 meters wide, it has been a major road for
02:26over 350 years.
02:28In 1670, King Louis XIV, he wanted a road that could travel from the Louvre Palace to
02:33Versailles, but it was swampland and actually was quite dangerous and with bandits.
02:39And it was actually also quite smelly with lots of sewage.
02:42So his gardener, Le Nôtre, created this road.
02:45And then during the revolution, it was actually along the avenue that many women, thousands
02:51of women, came asking for bread during the revolution.
02:54But at that point, it was a road.
02:56It wasn't until the 1830s that it became a place to enjoy the good life, both during
03:01the day, but also at night as it had gas lamps all along it.
03:06And this shows the extent to which today's Christmas light ceremony on the Champs and
03:10also other major cultural gatherings are tied to it.
03:15It is still the place where on the 14th of July, on Bastille Day, the national day, a
03:20military parade is held, except because of this year, because of the Olympics.
03:24It's also where protests sometimes break out, as we saw with the Yellow Vest Movement.
03:29And it's also where people gather after France wins major soccer matches.
03:34But in the day to day, it is above all a major roadway for cars.
03:38So that means there is pollution, there's noise.
03:40And aside from the tourists who come because of its historic weight, well, there are very
03:45few unique shops.
03:46Right.
03:47But there are efforts now, Solange, to try and change that.
03:49Yeah.
03:50Interestingly enough, it's actually a push that is largely coming from the private sector,
03:55which in itself creates a debate over private influence on public spaces.
04:00But nonetheless, the Committee of the Champs-Élysées, which is a non-profit organization that has
04:05over a century, for over a century, represented businesses along the avenue.
04:11They've submitted 150 proposals.
04:13They did this last month, too, and gave them to the Paris mayor's office.
04:16Their five year, five million euro study essentially mapped out a project to reduce traffic to
04:22two lanes and make it much more walkable and greener.
04:25It would cost hundreds of millions of euros, begin after the Olympic Games.
04:30With cinemas closing and small businesses long gone, Paris has actually pushed for a
04:35change as well.
04:36Who knows if a park promenade can really actually counterbalance the high rents there.
04:41But there is an argument for it because Parisians do go often to one-off events on the Champs,
04:47be it a recent giant spelling bee, a picnic all along the avenue, or the nearly monthly
04:52Sundays when it is entirely walkable.
04:56So who knows?
04:57We all may be one day singing, oh, Champs-Élysées.
04:59I hope so, Solange.
05:01Thanks very much indeed.
05:02Great to talk to you, Solange Marjan, for us there.
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