Paris's famed Champs-Elysees avenue is to be given a green makeover to transform it into what the mayor says will be an "extraordinary garden".

The French often call it "the most beautiful avenue in the world" but the decision follows years of campaigning by activists who complain that traffic and mass retail have turned it into a noisy and bland district shunned by Parisians.

The greening will take place in stages. First the car-clogged Place de la Concorde square at the bottom of the throughfare -- scheduled to be completed before the Paris Olympic Games in 2024 -- and then the whole of the avenue.

It's going to be another extraordinary garden," Mayor Anne Hidalgo told the Journal du Dimanche newspaper.

The plan is in keeping with other efforts by the Socialist city leader to create green spaces in the densely populated French capital, where elegant squares and tree-lined boulevards are often overwhelmed by vehicles.

A Champs-Elysees lobby group pushing for the project said it was "delighted with this announcement and welcomes the decision by the mayor's office which appears to want to make the makeover of the Champs-Elysees one its main urban projects of this decade."

Hidalgo has led efforts to reduce traffic in the city, which has seen the closure of two main road arteries that ran along the river Seine and the building of new infrastructure for bikes and electric scooters.

In 2019, American landscape architect Kathryn Gustafson was put in charge of a makeover for the Eiffel Tower area, where roads will also be turned into lawns and trees.

The Champs-Elysees was first laid out in 1670 but was given a revamp by Baron Haussmann, the architect behind the transformation of Paris under Napoleon III in the mid-19th century.

Over the centuries, Paris has been the stage for the high and low moments in French history, hosting celebrations and commemorations as well as protests.

More recently, it was the scene of fierce clashes between "yellow vest" anti-government demonstrators and police in 2018 and 2019.

It is also used as the route for the Bastille Day military parade, which celebrates the French republic and its armed forces on July 14, as well as the finishing point for the annual Tour de France cycle race.

Related Links
Darwin Today At TerraDaily.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

China jails 17 for smuggling pangolin scales worth $28 million
Beijing (AFP) Jan 5, 2021
A Chinese court jailed 17 people on Tuesday for smuggling pangolin scales worth $28 million. The gang were convicted of importing 23 tonnes of scales from pangolins - the world's most trafficked mammal - worth 180 million yuan ($28 million) from Nigeria between 2018 and 2019, the Intermediate People's Court in the eastern city of Wenzhou said. Two men identified as "masterminds behind the racket" were sentenced to between 13 and 14 years in prison. The others were given jail terms ranging fro ... read more