Paris' Champs Elysées to be given makeover

FRANCE 24 English

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00:00It's overrun with tourists and cars, some 50,000 vehicles a day.

00:06But Paris' most famous avenue long ago lost its charm for Parisians.

00:11So will a revamp help its appeal?

00:15Plans to reinvent the Champs-Elysées aim to make it greener and reclaim two of its

00:19six lanes of traffic for pedestrians.

00:23It would be nice because we're being invaded by cars and pedestrians need to stroll too,

00:28don't they?

00:29The more it's pedestrianised and the fewer cars there are, the happier I'll be and the

00:33more likely I would come here, which I never do apart from for work.

00:37Aside from those who work in the neighbourhood or are just passing through, Parisians make

00:42up less than 5% of the avenue's visitors.

00:45But it wasn't always like this.

00:49Renovated by Baron Haussmann in the 19th century, it soon became fashionable.

00:54With its beautiful shop windows and entertainment venues, Parisians used to love strolling along

00:59the Champs-Elysées.

01:01Now urban planners say its luxury stores only draw tourists.

01:05They want to give the avenue its appeal back with more green spaces, twice as many cycle

01:10lanes and by pedestrianising most of Congarde, the largest square in Paris, leaving just

01:16one lane for traffic.

01:18How do we get Parisians to want to go to the Champs-Elysées and not to say we don't go

01:23there anymore?

01:25The Paris City Council will now examine the proposals, with the overhaul projected for

01:29completion by 2030.

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