“Paris is not for sale!” : the appeal of elected environmentalists against the Louis Vuitton trunk on the Champs-Élysées

Of the elected Parisian environmentalists filed a appeal gracious to request the withdrawal of authorization granted to the group LVMH to dress the facade of one of its buildings Champs-Élysées of a giant metal trunkon the grounds that it would be a disguised advertisingwe learned on Wednesday.

First step before referral to the administrative court, this free appeal is addressed to the mayor PS Anne Hidalgo by elected environmentalists, as well as by the associations SOS Paris and Resistance to advertising aggression (RAP).

Classified as a historic monument, the large building located at 103-111 avenue des Champs-Élysées is to house a new 6,000 m2 flagship store of the luxury group LVMH, as well as a hotel, a spa, a restaurant and art galleries. 'art. According to the applicants, a request for a “temporary sign” was submitted on June 1, 2023, but according to the City the authorization runs “until 2027”, or four years.

1.7 million euros

Installed in the fall of 2023 parallel to the facade of the building and lit at night, the shimmering steel and wood trunk, symbol of the history of the famous leather goods manufacturer Louis Vuitton, faces the flagship boutique of the luxury group and also encroaches on the two adjacent streets.

The architects of the buildings of France have given their agreement to its implementation, while the owner will have to pay a tax of 1.7 million euros, the City explained to AFP, specifying that this “tarpaulin” was “not considered as advertising” as the building belongs to LVMH. The applicants believe, on the contrary, that the installation “diverts local and national rules on advertising” and that the duration of the authorization is “excessive and illegal”.

“This is not the first time that this company has benefited from a little too favorable treatment by the city of Paris. LVMH is neither below nor above the law and must strictly respect local advertising regulations “, declared the elected environmentalist Emile Meunier in a press release. “Paris is not for sale!”, judged Christine Nédélec, president of the SOS Paris heritage defense association. When contacted, the LVMH group and the City of Paris could not immediately be reached.