What the Champs Elysees will look like, stretching more than a mile through Paris. Photo: PCA-STREAM/AFP/Getty Images
The Champs-Elysées will soon have “the world's most beautiful running route” thanks to a €250m (£210m) plan to “re-glamorize” the traffic-clogged Paris avenue.
After five years and 5 million euros (£4.2 million) of research, the Champs-Élysées committee on Monday unveiled a plan to restore at least some of the glory of the legendary but increasingly unloved road by 2030.
< p>Marc-Antoine Jamet, chairman of the committee, said the group took action following “alarming” complaints that the avenue was “no longer loved, no longer friendly, abandoned by Parisians, feared by foreigners.”
“In short, “Everyone fled,” he added.
In the latest sign of disappointment on the Champs-Elysees, which stretches more than a mile from the heart of Paris, the UGC Normandie cinema will close in June due to a “drop in attendance” at cinemas along prospectus.
The chairman of the Champs-Élysées committee said that “everyone fled”; area Photo: PCA-STREAM/AFP/Getty ImagesTo win back Parisians, the 1,800-page, 400-map plan proposes 150 measures. These include increasing pedestrian space by 13 percent, reducing the number of traffic lanes from six to four, and doubling the width of bicycle lanes.
The plan, which included input from 183 experts, also says there will be recreational areas, including eight 500-square-foot “plant rooms” with “seating, summer shade and a fountain,” as well as free public restrooms.
Mr. Jamet said: “It is about maintaining a balance between foreign tourists and Parisians, between public and private activities.”
The committee hopes to reduce the avenue's carbon emissions by 33 percent over 50 years. Photo: PCA-STREAM/AFP/Getty Images
Currently abandoned 20 hectares of gardens near Concorde will be transformed into “a real Parisian park, equal to Luxembourg and Buttes-Chaumont”, with playgrounds for children, water attractions and fountains.
The plan also promises “the most beautiful in world running route” along new green spaces.< /p>
The goal is also to adapt the avenue to global warming by increasing the amount of permeable soil by 120 percent, planting 160 trees and creating a hectare of meadows and flower beds.The authors promise to reduce carbon emissions on the avenue. ecological footprint by 33 percent over 50 years and reduce the average temperature to seven degrees Celsius to turn it into a “climate refuge” in case of extreme heat.
Computer-generated image of the Champs-Élysées area, transformed by the film “Reviving the Charm of the Champs-Élysées.” urban project Photo: PCA-STREAM/AFP/Getty Images
Pointing to the “visual and formal clutter” created by the jumble of shops and terraces, they call for the preservation of Belle Epoque street furniture and the creation of “Poly”. -The design line of the Elysee Palace” to give it “overall harmony.”
“Remake the area”
Finally, the study aims to “remake the area” by programming cultural offerings “throughout the year”, coordinated by “cultural artistic manager.”
The most recent event was a gigantic “grand picnic” in the open air last Sunday, attended by 4,000 people on a 700-foot-long red and white tablecloth with free food.
“It's a way of telling Parisians, 'Come back to Champs-Élysées,” said Mr. Jamet.
In 2023, the committee turned the avenue into a massive open-air “dictation.”
Other proposed events include “magical nights” in the gardens . It was renamed Champs-Elysees in 1709 and expanded.
The city celebrated its liberation from the Nazis in 1944 on the Champs-Elysees, and World Cup victories still draw crowds, but its charm has gradually faded.
However, during the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris, it will be of great importance as it is within walking distance of five official venues.
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