While culture has gradually disappeared from the Champs-Elysées in favor of luxury stores, the mayor of the 8th arrondissement, Jeanne d'Hauteserre, would like to bring it back and renovate the Théâtre de Guignol, to bring families back. After more than two centuries of existence, the latter, located in the gardens of the Champs-Élysées and the oldest Guignol theater in the capital, closed in 2019.
It was the Guentleur family who set it up in 1818, in the form of a cart that shuttled up and down the Champs-Élysées, before settling permanently in Marigny Square, on Avenue Matignon in a fixed castelet. After generations in the same family, José-Luis Gonzalez ran it from 1979 to 2019. A veritable institution, it appeared in the films Charade (1963) and La Grande Vadrouille (1966).
Today, the little open-air theater is in a sorry state of repair, with fading paintwork, so the buyer has to renovate everything, but while François Allain and his troupe "Guignol & Compagnie" reclaimed the space in 2022, the Olympic Games have put a stop to the future of puppetry for the time being.
It's a historic venue with a real program to offer, but it still needs to win back its audience and families. This is one of the priorities of the mayor of the 8th arrondissement, who intends to renovate the theater, where she would like to"offer shows in English", she confided to us, due to the number of foreign tourists travelling not far from the avenue. Could this give the place a new lease of life? To be continued!
What if the 8th arrondissement became a village? Meet mayor Jeanne d'Hauteserre as she unveils her plans.
Every evening at 6.30pm, a flame flickers under the Arc de Triomphe, facing the Champs-Elysées. A few meters away, a mayor watches over a district often summed up in its luxury shop windows. But behind the gilding, the palaces and the historic monuments, Jeanne d'Hauteserre invites you to discover a vibrant, human and sometimes deeply moving 8th arrondissement. Follow this guide for a day. [Read more]
Location
Rond Point des Champs-Elysées
Rond-Point des Champs-Élysées Marcel-Dassault
75008 Paris 8
What if the 8th arrondissement became a village? Meet mayor Jeanne d'Hauteserre as she unveils her plans.
