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PARIS

H&M to close its controversial Paris store

Swedish ready-to-wear clothing giant H&M announced plans on Wednesday to close its Champs-Elysées store, 11 years after a controversial opening on Paris' most celebrated avenue.

Cars on the Champs-Elysees, Paris
Chain stores and heavy traffic on the Champs-Elysees have become a sore point for Parisians. Photo: Thomas Coex/AFP

The company said consultations were underway with trade unions on the plans to shut down the site, part of a global transformation to respond better to customer demands and ensure stores are optimally situated.

In April, H&M announced  plans to shut 350 of its 5,000 stores worldwide, while opening up 100 new locations. H&M said all 105 employees at the Champs-Elysees store would be offered jobs in its other Paris shops.

The retail clothing sector has struggled for years with the rise of online shopping, and the coronavirus pandemic only added to the trouble as stores were shuttered under health orders.

H&M had waged a five-year legal battle with Paris authorities who wanted to keep the discount clothes shop off the avenue.

The Champs-Elysée has become an increasing sore point for Parisians, as the famous and once exclusive avenue gradually filled up with chain stores and tourists, while heavy traffic along the route made it noisy and polluted.

The mayor’s office has unveiled a plan to completely pedestrianise the avenue, turning it into ‘an extraordinary garden’. 

However the €250m transformation will not take place until after the Olympics in 2024.

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PARIS

Fluffy nuisance: Outcry as Paris sends Invalides rabbits into exile

Efforts to relocate wild rabbits that are a common sight on the lawns of the historic Invalides memorial complex have provoked criticism from animal rights groups.

Fluffy nuisance: Outcry as Paris sends Invalides rabbits into exile

Tourists and Parisians have long been accustomed to the sight of wild rabbits frolicking around the lawns of Les Invalides, one of the French capital’s great landmarks.

But efforts are underway to relocate the fluffy animals, accused of damaging the gardens and drains around the giant edifice that houses Napoleon’s tomb, authorities said.

Police said that several dozen bunnies had been captured since late January and relocated to the private estate of Breau in the Seine-et-Marne region outside Paris, a move that has prompted an outcry from animal rights activists.

“Two operations have taken place since 25 January,” the police prefecture told AFP.

“Twenty-four healthy rabbits were captured on each occasion and released after vaccination” in Seine-et-Marne, the prefecture said.

Six more operations are scheduled to take place in the coming weeks.

Around 300 wild rabbits live around Les Invalides, according to estimates.

“The overpopulation on the site is leading to deteriorating living conditions and health risks,” the prefecture said.

Authorities estimate the cost of restoring the site, which has been damaged by the proliferation of underground galleries and the deterioration of gardens, pipes and flora, at €366,000.

Animal rights groups denounced the operation.

The Paris Animaux Zoopolis group said the rabbits were being subjected to “intense stress” or could be killed “under the guise of relocation”.

“A number of rabbits will die during capture and potentially during transport,” said the group, accusing authorities of being “opaque” about their methods.

The animal rights group also noted that Breau was home to the headquarters of the Seine-et-Marne hunting federation.

The police prefecture insisted that the animals would not be hunted.

In 2021, authorities classified the rabbits living in Paris as a nuisance but the order was reversed following an outcry from animal groups who have been pushing for a peaceful cohabitation with the animals.

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