It was at number 74 Avenue des Champs-Élysées that you had to be this Friday, January 3. Fnac had announced with fanfare a major pre-closure clearance sale, which attracted thousands of people. The departure of the brand, present on the avenue since 1997, is one more step in the transformation of the famous artery, increasingly deserted by residents. From the status of the most beautiful avenue in the world to an open-air shopping center there is only one step… already taken?
The weather is beautiful, the sky is blue and Christmas decorations still adorn the fronts of the hundreds of stores on Avenue des Champs-Élysées. Numerous tourists stroll along the legendary artery on which fast-fashion brands and luxury boutiques have coexisted for several years. The closure of the Fnac store, a seemingly innocuous event, reveals the increasingly commercial character of this famous district.
« At one point it started to get hot »
Despite the cold, some 3,000 people showed up to hope to take advantage of the record discounts from the big sale announced by Fnac, in its legendary store on the Champs-Élysées. The most ambitious arrived on site at 7 a.m. After several hours of waiting, the compact crowd began to warm up. “ There was a mass of people in front of the PMR entrances [personnes à mobilité réduite] and it created large crowds. Thanks to pregnant women I managed to sneak into the store but the police arrived with fanfare. About ten boaters came and pushed me, even though they saw clearly that we couldn't go back behind the barriers. At one point it started to get hot », says Ewan, 16 years old, who came from 92 to buy vinyls, who will leave empty-handed and looking defeated.
