This is a first which confirms a real opportunity. While the restoration work on the Saint-Michel fountain in the 6th arrondissement of Paris is due to begin next February, elected officials welcome the installation, for 10 months of the construction site, of an advertising tarpaulin.
If some immense ones have already appeared during renovation or restoration work on Parisian monuments, “this is the first time that a fountain has been concerned,” assures Karen Taïeb, deputy (App. PS) to the mayor of Paris in charge of heritage.
But if all the elected officials are smiling, it is because the contract signed with the advertising agency which obtained the call for applications is extremely juicy. After raising the stakes between the three candidates, the City signed a “public space occupation” contract for an advertising surface of 326 m² on the scaffolding (686 m²) which will bring in at least 5.24 million euros. The ads can be exhibited for 10 months (from March to January 2026). The restoration will concern Davioud’s monumental work, statuary, decorations and the modernization of the electrical and hydraulic systems.
A restoration estimated at 2.3 million euros
If this is less than the 7 million euros in revenue from the Center des monuments nationaux (CMN) for the 1,300 m² tarpaulin which was placed on the Hôtel de la Marine in 2017, this goes above all beyond the cost of the work which amounts to 2.3 million euros.
A procedure which is particularly regulated by the heritage code, because the fountain is listed as a historic monument, but also under the environmental code. The tarpaulin will be validated by the State services and the operator must provide a decorative tarpaulin, reproducing the image of the monument, for the rest of the scaffolding.
“It remains to be hoped that the reason for this very lucrative advertisement for the City is not too remarkable…, smiles Jean-Pierre Lecoq, mayor (LR) of the 6th arrondissement. But its proximity to Notre-Dame makes this location a fabulous place for advertisers.” A great economic operation that the City, which devotes around 30 million euros per year to its heritage, could wish to renew.
