The Paris Exhibition Center

On behalf of the two competent committees of the Municipal Council, MM. Denais and Adolphe Chérioux have just adopted the creation of a park for fairs, exhibitions and festivals in Paris, in accordance with the provisions of a prefectural memorandum which we spoke about last March.

We know, said the rapporteurs, of the very justified complaints brought many times against the constant occupation of the Esplanade des Invalides, the Champ de Mars and the major neighboring arteries, by various annual exhibitions: Paris Fair, Concours Lépine, annexes of the Motor Show, etc., etc.

For a long time, we have aspired to get out of this situation. It is unacceptable that the City of Paris does not have an exhibition site. The administration has been looking for a favorable location for several years and we know of the long and eventful negotiations relating to the Parc des Princes and the famous Palace.

These solutions having not been successful, we ended up considering the allocation for this object, of a set of lands including bastions 72 and 73 and the old brickworks of Vaugirard, where we could house various exhibitions, competitions agricultural, fairs, etc. We would thus definitively free all organizers of art, industry or other events from the worry of finding shelter. They would be sure to have it in a special place and large enough to meet all needs.

The future Park, the installation of which would be entrusted to a company, would include permanent buildings and temporary constructions. During periods when it is not used for exhibitions, the park would be freely accessible to the population and would thus become a public promenade.

This is, in broad terms, the project that the Municipal Council has just voted on.