Parisians say ‘non’ to global brands on culturally important sites

Prime sites in the French capital, including the Saint-Michel fountain in the Latin Quarter and the world-famous Louvre Museum, have been given over to international brand advertising while building work on the sites is underway.

Although controversial, the appearance of the giant billboards showcasing everything from Calvin Klein Jeans, featuring US actor and The Bear star Jeremy Allen White, to American actress Charlize Theron seductively hawking Dior’s J’adore perfume, is part of the council’s strategy to plug significant holes in its budget.

Renting the advertising space on the hoardings obscuring building work, while the money-spinning tourist attractions are out of commission, generates millions of euros for the city council to pay eye-watering restoration costs.

The sale of the advertising space at the Saint-Michel fountain raised €5m for the Paris council’s coffers – more than enough to meet the estimated €2.3m cost of restoring the historic monument.

The city’s socialist-run council, which is managing debts of around €8.8bn this year, says it spends around €30m annually restoring the city’s historic buildings and monuments.

Parisians can’t foot the bill on their own

With significant restoration works in the pipeline, including the multi-million-euro renovation of the medieval Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois church, officials know they cannot rely on Parisian taxpayers to foot the entire bill.

But the appearance of the giant billboards hasn’t gone down well with conservative heritage campaigners and left-wing environmentalists, who want the Paris authorities to curb their enthusiasm for the practice, regardless of how lucrative it is.

Didier Rykner, editor of La Tribune de l’Art, denounced what he called the perverse system that was blighting Paris’ urban landscape.

He said: “The banks of the Seine, a world heritage site, will once more be polluted by a gigantic advertisement for a smartphone or a pair of trainers.”

Géraldine Dufresne, spokesperson for the Sauvons Notre Patrimoine (Save Our Heritage) group, warned that the sale of cultural sites to advertisers could set a dangerous precedent for other iconic sites in France and across Europe.

“Monuments like Notre-Dame and the Grand Palais are integral parts of France’s cultural soul. Allowing ads to mar these structures is a short-term solution that damages the perception of Paris as a custodian of world heritage,” she said.

Paris’ cash-strapped council has little choice

With restoration projects taking years to complete and running into millions of euros, Paris council officials feel they have little choice but to turn to the private sector for support.

The scale of the financial challenges facing the custodians of France’s cultural heritage is vast. The total cost of repairs to one cultural treasure, Notre-Dame Cathedral, is expected to exceed €800m when it opens in December 2024. Meanwhile, work to restore the Eiffel Tower, which is expected to take place in phases over the next few years, will cost over €300m.

For Paris council officials, partnerships with advertisers are vital to fund work that benefits all of France.

Paris Deputy Mayor for Heritage, Karen Taïeb, explained: “This is about balancing our city’s financial needs with our cultural responsibility. Many of these sites would not be able to undergo restoration at the current pace without support from private sponsors.

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“By allowing advertising on the scaffolding, we can ensure these landmarks remain for future generations while reducing the financial burden on taxpayers,” Taïeb said during a council meeting.

Jeanne d’Hauteserre, Mayor of Paris’ eighth district, which includes the Champs-Élysées, was more bullish in her support of the measures: “Either you have an ugly covering or you have a pretty one. Whatever happens, if there is building work, you need to have a covering”.

She said that objectors would change their tune “the day something falls on their head”.