As Global Chains Move In, The Champs Elysees Gets A New Look
Once known as the most beautiful avenue in the world, some Parisians fear the Champs Elysees is starting to look like any American shopping mall as high rents and global chains steadily change its appearance.
"We just try to keep a sort of diversity on the Champs Elysees, with the cinemas, with restaurants, with cafes and shops," says Deputy Mayor Lynn Cohen Solal. "We don't think the laws of the natural market, the free market, make for a good Champs Elysees."
Cohen Solal says the Champs Elysees is being transformed by those skyrocketing rents. A Qatari firm recently bought the Virgin Megastore building and is doubling the rent. She says foreign investors now see the Champs Elysees as a place for real estate speculation.
Many French regard it as a horrible fate for an avenue that is not only a symbol of Paris, but a reflection of the French nation itself.
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