European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 30, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Daily Magazine by Rone tempest los Angeles times o some the recent developments in Paris along the Broad Avenue Des champs Elysee Are nothing less than a massacre of one of the world s great streets a desecration of the French triumphal path that once bore the ashes of Napoleon Bonaparte and the coffin of Victor Hugo. The degradation of the champs Elysee reflects the degradation of society in general argues Maurice Casanova owner of Fouquet a the last remaining classic Belle Poque style restaurant left on the Avenue. To Casanova his restaurant is a proud battleship holding out against an Armada of Swift modern destroyers. Others have a More evolutionary View of the 1.1-mile stretch Between the arc Detriomphe and the place de la Concord that the French proudly Call the most Beautiful Avenue in the  the champs Elysee this Side contends has been democratized to make room for even More people to share its glory. I m not going to cry any tears Over the coming of fast food restaurants to the champs Elysee said Claude Marcus president of publicist an International advertising firm based on the Avenue. To me this is an aspect of modernization and the democratization of the City Center that you see in All the big cities of  from there the debate Breaks Down into the populist is. Elitist Republican is. Monarchist ready to Wear is. High fashion kind of Exchange that has been at the Center of history in Paris since the French revolution 200 years ago this summer. Still everyone agrees on one thing the champs Elysee has undergone a metamorphosis in recent years. It is no longer the fashionable Center of town. On the other hand in terms of numbers of visitors and volume of sales in its stores and eateries it is More popular than Ever. In the last 20 years most of the haute couture shops perfume Ries and fancy restaurants that once lined the path have moved away Many to the nearby Avenue montaigne and Rue do Faubourg St. Honore. In their place Are jeans and sweat shirt emporiums compact disc stores one hour photo shops and computerized astrology centers All bouncing to the blaring beat of Rock infused sound systems. The grand hotels of the past have All been gutted to make room for shopping malls and video game Parlours. At the same time fast food restaurants with names like pop inn free time and yes Mcdonald s and Burger King now Battle for sidewalk space with double deck pizza Parlours. You no longer see the elegant set strolling on the champs Elysee said police commissioner Jean Louis Camus until recently the Man in charge of Paris most famous Street. Today is the reign of the Cornet de writes French Fries in a cup. The elegant promenades have been chased  instead the Broad sidewalks and tree lined curbs of the Avenue have become havens for paddlers who Hawk giant balloons and plastic mechanical Birds that Dart annoyingly through the air an increasing number of homeless elegance now comes in a paper cup performers who amuse the crowds outside movie Heaters by swallowing razor Blades and phalanges of special French police units the swaggering Compagnie Republic Aine de Security in their Navy Blue flight jackets. The police Are there to keep the peace among the Avenue s daily volume of 250,000 people Many of them unemployed youths who come into town on the inexpensive suburban train system. Indeed those in the elitist Camp often Mark the beginning of the champs Elysee transformation with the opening in 1970 of the Reseau express regional train station underneath the arc Detriomphe which made the Center of Paris accessible to those from the mainly working class suburbs. The result of All this is that the champs Elysee the Avenue that Marcel Bleustein Blanchet creator of be drugstore Calls the great beating heart of the City showcase of its riches its glories and its passions is no longer Chic. For the stylish French professional class the champs Elysee has All the allure of a bottle of Ketchup. In tribute to this attitude the annual French Yuppie Guidebook by by Lebon Chic Bon genre put it first on the list of places to  but this does not mean that the champs Elysee has suddenly become overwhelmingly ugly or deadly dangerous. Crime on the champs Elysee is mainly the kind of minor delinquency and Petty theft you find in congested Public places purse snatching and picking pockets said Jean Claude Guardiola police chief of the 8th arrondissement which contains the Avenue As Well As the French presidential Palace and the . And British embassies. Practically nothing done to the Avenue first developed As a Royal Carriage path in the Early 17th Century by Marie de Medici wife of King Henry in makes much of a Dent in its natural grandeur. From its base at place de la concorde where the renowned obelisk from the Temple of Luxor was installed in 1836, the Avenue rises along the gentle Grade of Chaillot Hill to the magnificent 162 foot High arc Detriomphe commissioned by Napoleon in 1806 to glorify his military victories. The great Width of the champs Elysee More than 200 feet for its entire course and Paris 79-foot limitation on building height gives it an Ideal scale for the Celebration of human Triumph and military Conquest. American troops paraded there at the end of world War i and world War ii. And the famed tour de France bicycle race ends there every summer concluding with several laps up and Down the Avenue. The Avenue also remains a prestige address for any business big or Small. Mcdonald s reportedly spent $6-million to win its spot on the sunny Side of the champs buildings on the Street s Northeast flank Garner 20 percent More rent because of the increased exposure to Light. Office rent can reach an annual rate in excess of $450 per Square foot. Outrage Over trends along the champs Elysee has been bubbling for decades. In 1933, some parisians complained that the Street was going to the dogs when its first ready to Wear clothing store Pri Sunic opened for business. In 1958, it was Bleustein Blanchet s turn to spark a controversy when he opened be drugstore the american inspired combination pharmacy All hours restaurant and gift store that now has branches at both ends of the Avenue. The main objection to be drugstore was the name which Many French officials found too  the champs Elysee French president Charles de Gaulle commented sarcastically in the Early 1960s, is the most Beautiful Avenue in the world if you disregard the buildings that line  today an estimated 60 percent to 80 percent of the buildings along the Avenue Are owned by foreigners including Oil Rich arabs from the persian Gulf and japanese. The most recent Shock to the system came this summer when. Casanova owner of the first class restaurant Fouquet a Learned that the Absentee kuwaiti landlords of the Fouquet s building planned to sell. Aided by dozens of celebrities who still frequent the restaurant which remains the traditional location for the launching of any new film in town Casanova appealed to French culture minister Jack Lang to declare the site a National Monument. Any restaurant where James Joyce Marcel Proust Marilyn Monroe and Eleanor Roosevelt All dined at one time or another he argued should not be torn Down. Finally in november Casanova got his wish. Fouquet s was identified As a piece of French heritage to be protected like the louvre and the Eiffel Tower in perpetuity. Monday january 30, 1989 the stars and stripes Page 13