26.5.10

Green fields

During the past weekend, the Champs-Elysées were transformed into some real “champs” – fields. The French agricultural organisations made a great manifestation and the whole avenue was for two days – only - completely transformed. In the nice weather, there were obviously some two million visitors. … and after the long weekend, the traffic was back to normal – a fantastic logisitic operation.
As the serious blogger I am, I decided to climb the close to 300 steps to the top of the Arch of Triumph (see previous post), to give you a total view.

42 comments:

Whitney Smith said...

Wow Peter, how exciting was this? What an amazing view...I feel lucky to see it.

Thanks!

♥ E.T. Suzy ♥ said...

Great photos, Peter! Thanks for climbing those stairs...I know how daunting that can be!

Catherine said...

looks fantastic to see so much green in the heart of the city!!

Virginia said...

As the not so serious blogger that I am , I'm glad it was you and not moi! :) I saw this on some other blogs but didn't realize the entire street was taken over. How grand and no cars whizzing by. Merci for the bird's eye view Peter.
V

joanna said...

Peter

Wonderful "serious" blogger --- it took my breath away - this was a colossal event and only two days amazing -- a true testament to what the human spirit can accomplish. Fantastic photographs worthy of a time-capsule -- Life magazine or some famous magazine would love these photo's -- hope you publish a book soon. Or have you?

Joanny

Rakesh Vanamali said...

Wow! What a wonderful effort! This is absolutely fantastic!

SusuPetal said...

WOW! Amazing! Wonderful and so exciting!!! Just beautiful, Peter.

Olivier said...

magnifique, j'ai rate ça, mais cela va surement devenir une manifestation annuelle. je pense qu'il devait y avoir du monde sur l'arc de triomphe pour avoir une vue globale

Thérèse said...

Fantastique! Génial! On ne peut que vous envier d'avoir été là et d'avoir vécu tout cela!
Merci pour ces vues magnifiques!

Bergson said...

la première photo est impressionnante
aller tous aux champs

claude said...

Quelle idée de génie de faire un jardin génant sur les Champs.
C'est quand même mieux qu'un apéro géant sur le Champ.

hpy said...

Et dire que j'ai la chance de voir des champs tous les jours sans avoir à grimper trop haut!

Jilly said...

Far far better photos than I see in my local paper! Which isn't surprising knowing your photography. You show it in all its glory. We just saw Sarkozy with a bit of farm in the background! And well done for climbing all this stairs. Well worth it tho. Thanks Peter. What an event this is - would love to have been there.

Nathalie H.D. said...

Bravo Peter pour tes jambes de jeune homme et merci beaucoup pour ce photo reportage. Ma fille y est allée lundi mais découragée par la foule compacte n'y est pas restée longtemps. Ca me fait plaisir de voir des images, c'est impressionnant !

Nathalie H.D. said...

Claude - 'jardin gênant au lieu de jardin géant" jeu de mots volontaire ou lapsus révélateur ?
Très amusant en tout cas !

Peter - Le musée Angladon avec toi c'est quand tu veux.

Kate said...

Those stairs make for a mean climb but the view is always worth it. Your long-range photos are fantastic. An amazing event!

Shionge said...

Yes I read about this here and I think it is awesome!!!

Adam said...

Well done for getting these excellent photos - it must have been quite a battle! I went along on Sunday because it was a 'must see' event, but I found it closer to hell than to heaven! The Arc de Triomphe was a good idea because it was impossible to get any kind of perspective from anywhere else.

I see there were arguments as to whether it was all a waste of money or not, but I guess with 1.5 million people present (who do they possibly count?), I guess it can be said that it was something that brought people into the city!

Tanya said...

Great pictures! The friends I was with couldn't bare to make it down the whole avenue, let alone climb the arc in the 30+ degree weather!
Merci

Ruth said...

How extraordinary, Peter! I've never seen anything like it, and although it is quite an extravagance, something in me is not sorry about it.

Thank you for your climb and fantabulous photos!

Carol said...

absolutely stunning! thank you

Unknown said...

I've watched this on tv and I just couldn't believe it! It's amazing! Awesome perspectives, Peter!

Starman said...

I normally like crowds, but that would have been too much for me.

Catherine said...

Ca eut payé....mais ça paye plus ! j'suis qu'un pauv'paysan !

Et j'ajouterais, combien ça m'a couté en terme d'impots pour 2 jours d'exploitation agricole ?

Cezar and Léia said...

Thanks for sharing this unique view of the Champs Elysees! Must have been a big day!
God bless you!
Cezar

James said...

Excellent post Peter. I also enjoyed your 18th arrondissement posts too.

lulusorciere said...

Génial Peter, bravo pour la vue d'ensemble !!! Mon rêve devient réalité : ma campagne en plein Paris !
Bises

Parisbreakfasts said...

THAT is so extraordinary!!!
They once marched under my window by the Eiffel Tower..
The din from the cow bells and the mooing was a bit offputting but I'm glad they make a fuss.
Not at all sheep-like as USA farmers are!
merci for great pics

Vagabonde said...

Les champs et la ferme à Paris et sur les Champs – c’est incroyable, il fallait le faire! Vraiment des photos sensas Peter.

Cheryl said...

Wonderful! Wish I could have walked through those fields. I hope it's a yearly thing. What a great way to celebrate spring!

claude said...

J'ai du oublier de dire que ta photo sur les Champs du haut de l'Arc est superbe.

Cergie said...

Les Champs étaient surtout noirs de monde, le vert venant plutôt des arbres de l'avenue sur tes photos.
Tu y es allé vers midi (ombre de coté), moi le soir ; je regrette de ne pas y être allée le matin de bonne heure. L'Arc avec le colza devant, j'ai vu des photos > superbe (moi trop de contre-jour le soir)

Cergie said...

Les gens étaient contents, comme lors d'un feu d'artifice qui aurait duré 2 jours, car il y a beaucoup de parisiens qui n'ont pas l'occase ni les moyens d'aller à la campagne ni d'y emmener leurs enfants...
J'ai trouvé touchant les personnes photographiant des feuilles ou des fleurs avec une lumière douteuse, heureux de se photographier, mais eux ce n'était pas pour leur blog...

le banc moussu said...

Uncredibly crowded. You were very courageous Peter to stay in there and I believe it was beautiful from the top of the arc de triomphe.
Christian

krystyna said...

Really Great Job, Peter!

I noticed on one of the buildings
greenery on the terrace
which looks like a garden or park.
Fantastic green.

Take care!

lasiate said...

la campagne à la ville, pauvres paysans. Alphonse Allais avait bien raison

Cathy said...

Fantastic photos of an amazing site. I wish I could have seen it myself, but your post was the next best thing.

Simony said...

Beautiful pictures Peter! The angle from above is extraordinary! I think it was worth the climb, and it just proves you are really serious about your journalism. Good for us!
Thanks.

richard said...

Hi Peter

Wow, that's quite an endevour - closing the Champs Elysées for two days. It looks very interesting. Great photos - are you using your new G11? I hope your happy with it after so much good service from the G7. I certainly think the G11 is excellent

JPD said...

Climbing the stairs ? Tss, tss, tss, tu as pris l'ascenseur lol ;-)

Trotter said...

That must have been an incredible event!!

Jeanie said...

The logistics for that had to be amazing, but oh! How wonderful!`