the Champs-Élysées without cars, the police reveal security measures

For December 31 and New Year's Eve, avoid taking your car and take the metro. The police headquarters has just presented the security system in Paris, for the concert and the fireworks planned on the Champs-Élysées.

This Tuesday, December 31, the Champs-Élysées will be subject to special security. 10,000 police officers and gendarmes will be mobilized in Paris and the inner suburbs, and in particular on the “most beautiful avenue in the world“.

Be careful if you are in a car or just a pedestrian, as some areas close to the public a few days before. Restrictions put in place to prepare for the festivities. The police headquarters indicates that it is putting these measures in place to “guarantee the security of people and property, and prevent disturbances to public order, in a context of still high terrorist threat“, according to his press release.

Here are the measures in place in Paris, and sometimes elsewhere in the region.

Avoid using the car

From Sunday December 29, it is no longer possible to access by any means whatsoever the Plateau de l'Étoile and the top of the Champs-Élysées (the sector between Place Charles de Gaulle and the Tilsitt/Presbourg sector) . These places are reserved for the assembly operations necessary for the planned concert.

By car, be careful not to park anywhere. From December 31 at 7 a.m. and until January 1 at 4 a.m., traffic is prohibited in certain lanes and portions of lanes located in the 8th, 16th and 17th arrondissements. Do not try to park in these same areas either, between Sunday December 29 from 12:01 a.m. and January 1 at 5:30 a.m. This is the case for example on avenue Montaigne, place de la Concorde or avenue de Wagram. The complete list is mentioned in the authorities' order.

Take transport

Six metro lines, five RER lines and several Transilien SNCF will operate free of charge and all night. However, some stations will be closed in order to better manage the travel of the many people expected. Please note that connections within stations remain possible. Note that stations like Trocadéro (lines 6 and 9) or La Motte-Picquet-Grenelle (lines 6, 8 and 10) will see some of their exits closed in the event of large crowds.

Stations closed on December 31 (with their closing time):

• Line 1: Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre, Tuileries, Concorde, Champs-Élysées Clemenceau,
  Franklin D. Roosevelt, George V, Argentina and Porte Maillot (all closed from 3:00 p.m.), Charles de Gaulle-Etoile (closed at 12:00 a.m.)
• Line 2: Charles de Gaulle-Étoile (closing at 12:00 a.m.), Ternes (same closing date but at 12:10 a.m.)
• Line 6: Passy (7 p.m.), Dupleix (9 p.m.), Boissière (11 p.m.)
• Line 9: Saint-Philippe du Roule, Iéna (both closed on December 31 at 7:00 p.m.)
• RER A: Charles de Gaulle-Étoile (closing from 3:00 p.m.)

Bonus tip: arrive early. Access points to the festivities and dedicated to the public are open from 6:00 p.m. These accesses are detailed in message X (formerly Twitter), just above this paragraph.

Restrict yourself on certain products

The police headquarters is introducing temporary measures to avoid excesses. “The transport and distribution of fuel, including flammable gas, in individual containers is prohibited“, indicate the State services in the capital. The provisional measure has been in force in Paris and the inner suburbs since Monday December 23, 2024 and until January 2 at 8:00 a.m. Clearly, it is impossible, for example, to transport gasoline in a jerry can.

Same thing if it occurs to you to use certain types of fireworks, at home or elsewhere: “The transfer of fireworks of categories F2 to F4, and pyrotechnic articles of categories T2 and P2 are prohibited.“This other temporary measure is also in place, on these same dates.

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Some of these measures were already in place for the transition to 2024. Festivities which were then marked by the upcoming Olympic Games.