European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 1, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Champs Elysee a new look for the Grande Dame the chimps Elysee is 6,266 feet Long stretching from the Palace de la concorde to the arc Detriomphe. Editor s note it is perhaps the most famous promenade in the world a the champs Elysee the once elegant Avenue that was the epitome of Paris. But the Grande Dame of avenues has grown Tacky. By Marilyn August associated press Thomas Jefferson would have been aghast to see the Garish billboards the hamburger joints and the Street vendors lining the champs Elysee. Charles Dickens no stranger to the Seamer Side of London would have been taken Aback at the sight of deformed beggars Selling pencils along the famed Avenue which he favored for its country flavor. And Napoleon the embodiment of the grandeur of France might have been enraged to see a ragged toothless fire eater cavorting in the Shadow of his Majestic arc Detriomphe. Indeed these and other former Habi tues of the champs Elysee once the most Beautiful Avenue in the world would wonder what in the world has happened to the old neighbourhood. It s hardly the champs Elysee of legend a magical Haven of luxury and Leisure fabled in song and fiction and celebrated on the Silver screen offering a breathtaking Vista sweeping from the place de la concorde to the triumphal Arch commemorating Napoleon s Battlefield victories. But thanks to an ambitious project unveiled in january by City officials the champs Elysee will get a Facelift a Chance to reverse its decline. Thomas Jefferson the third . President lived on the champs Elysee while he was ambassador to France from 1785 to 89. So did Victor Hugo and Charles Dickens who disdained the readiness of left Bank literary society for the quiet of the champs. Marcel Proust played in the gardens at the rond Point and after world War ii Dwight d. Eisenhower directed the Allied forces operations from his Headquarters overlooking the champs. They would hardly recognize the champs today with its bumper to bumper traffic and oversized sidewalk cafes that Force pedestrians onto the Road. Quot the champs Elysee should once again become the privileged place for promenades it was designed to be and once again become the most Beautiful Avenue in the world Quot says mayor Jacques Chirac. The plan expected to Cost from $26 million to $36 million and take four years to Complete Calls for eliminating the car jammed Side alleys parallel to the main Street which is 6,266 feet Long. In their place sidewalks will be widened to 70 feet and paved with Multi hued Granite slabs Laid out in geometrical designs. Two new underground parking garages will replace the 390 spaces lost. The piece de resistance will be a second Row of More than 300 plane Trees to be staggered several feet behind the existing Lane thus reinforcing the Luxuriance of the 233-foot-wide Avenue. The brainchild of Pierre Yves Ligen who headed the redesign of the louvre museum in the mid-1980s, the overhaul also will target the giant billboards hanging on buildings along the champs. There s no reason Why the world s most Beautiful 3lj sol a used like a Christmas tree with any old thing hanging on it Quot says Ligen who will allow billboards Only on first and second floors. Fast food restaurants with their brightly coloured logos will have to tone Down their decor. And Many cafes and restaurants May have to reduce or even eliminate their sidewalk terraces. Quot pedestrians should t have to step Over subway vents just because a Terrace has taken Over half the sidewalk Quot Ligen says. 4 stripes Magazine March i 1990 the sidewalk tables of popular cafes along the champs often Force pedestrians into the streets. An old print depicting the funeral procession along the champs for Napoleon Bonaparte on dec. 15, 1840. And in the Hope of luring Back High class hotels the Stone facades of several Large buildings will be classified As historical monuments. A similar Man Euver saved Fouquet a the legendary champs Elysee restaurant and bar that has catered to the world s film Industry for generations. It is one of the few remaining establishments serving up traditional fare in a comfortable setting. But to Roland Pozzo Diborgo president of the champs Elysee committee which represents 200 store owners and managers the Avenue is Fine just the Way it is. Quot the champs is simply evolving along with the new lifestyle and needs of those who frequent it a 300,000 people daily according to police officials Quot he says. He says those strollers enjoy the varied non Stop Street life a Choice among about two dozen first run movies 24-hour kiosks Selling newspapers and magazines from around the world a giant music store and competing Auto showrooms that serve hamburgers and banana splits. Though Pozzo Diborgo generally supports the mayor s plan he says his group worries that prolonged construction will Hurt business. His biggest headaches he says Are the Many vagrants and Street vendors illegally hawking everything from giant balloons to roasted chestnuts. They flock to the champs despite repeated police efforts to move them out. Despite the crowds the champs Elysee is one of the safest areas in Paris police say. For the vendors it is also one of the most lucrative. Pozzi Diborgo claims a Choice location on the champs costs a Vendor $1,700 to $2,600, paid to an underground organization that furnishes the goods posts lookouts and collects the in song fiction film a powerful Symbol of the Beauty and grandeur of France the champs Elysee has been celebrated in song in fiction and on the Silver screen by generations of International Talent. Who could forget the Sweet innocence of american actress Jean Seberg hawking the Paris Herald Tribune on the champs Elysee in Jean Luc Godard s 1959 movie classic breathless co starring the Young Jean Paul Belmondo French audiences still wince As German tanks Roll Down the champs Elysee in is Paris burning 1965rene Clement s epic about the efforts of a German general to save the French capital from the destruction ordered by Adolf Hitler. Dozens of writers lived on or near the tree shaded Avenue. Marcel Proust used to play in the gardens at the rond Point where he met the Young woman who would later inspire his two most me memorable female characters Gilberte and Odette of remembrance of things past. Gustave Flaubert was fascinated with the champs Elysee and the role it played in the social lives of fashionable parisians. In the novel the sentimental education Frederic makes frequent pilgrimages there to see his beloved Madame Arnoux. Victor Hugo took up residence on the champs Elysee after being evicted from his left Bank Home. He remained there until 1832 when fighting broke out under his windows confining the entire family to the House for Days. Soon after he moved to a Quot safer Quot Home on the place Des Vosges. British novelist Charles Dickens seeking the anonymity of a foreign capital chose Paris and a Home on the champs Elysee. But after the enormous Success of Martin Cruz Lewit he was recognized even by the French and finally agreed to give weekly Public readings of the Book in English. Honore de Balzac s the human comedy contains 41 references to the champs Elysee. In his classic father Corot the champs is where the miserly old Man wanders secretly admiring handsome Young ladies in horse drawn carriages. Laid out in 1667 by Jean Baptise Colbert finance minister under Louis Xiv the champs was designed to extend the sigh line of the Tuil eries Palace a since destroyed by fire a and surround it with wide tree lined walkways that the King could Admire from his Royal residence at the louvre. Stendhal summed up the champs of old Quot i m going to look for the peace and quiet of the country in the Only place where it exists in France on a fourth floor overlooking the champs Joe Dassin s hit tune of the 1960s summed up the Story of the champs today Quot in Sun and rain at noon or Midnight you can get anything you want on the champs Many blame the decline of the champs Elysee on skyrocketing rents and the re the regional express transit line that links Eastern and Western suburbs and stops at Etoile under the arc Detriomphe. Quot the re has brought in a Young suburban population on a Beer budget Quot says Andre Pari Naud of the organization remo tons Les champs Elysee up the champs Elysee. Quot the stores offer what they can afford a Beer records and the Only fur Clad visitors today he says Are the foreign tourists taking in some of the Glamour at the Lido nightclub one of the few surviving champs Elysee institutions. Pari Naud accused Pozzo Diborgo s group of being Quot too concerned with Short term Quot cultural values Are More important than economic ones Quot he says urging a Quot cultural Renaissance Quot with More Heaters a cultural Center and no More hamburger joints and pizza Parlours. March 1, 1990 stripes Magazine 5
