"The Avenue des Champs-Elysées is among the world's most famous streets, and it even has a song named after it - but these days it is increasingly being shunned by Parisians. Paris' Champs-Élysées Avenue is nearly two kilometres long, running from Place de la Concorde, where King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette lost their heads, to the Arc de Triomphe monument at the other end."
"The avenue dates back to the 17th century, when the gardener to the Sun King (Louis XIV) first traced its path. It has witnessed important events in France history. In 1940, German troops marched along the avenue following the fall of Paris, and in 1944, General Charles de Gaulle and the French 2nd Armoured Division paraded down the Champs-Elysées to celebrate the liberation of Paris."
Champs-Élysées stretches nearly two kilometres between Place de la Concorde and the Arc de Triomphe, with origins in the 17th century when Louis XIV’s gardener laid out its path. The avenue has hosted major historical moments, including the 1940 German march and the 1944 liberation parade, and remains central to national sports rituals like the Tour de France and Olympic farewell events. Recent years have seen protests and vandalism during the Gilets Jaunes movement. Rising commercial rents and a 30-fold increase in luxury boutiques since the early 2000s have driven out cultural centres, middle-income shops and most residents, leaving only a few dozen full-time inhabitants.
Read at The Local France
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