"L’Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped" in Paris, a posthumous project from artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude.
Photographer: Nathan Laine/BloombergHow France Turned the Humble Roundabout Into a Showcase for Art
From children’s boats to snails and a giant thumb, the spaces drivers pass around are now islands of creativity.
Thousands of visitors recently flocked to France’s most famous roundabout — Place Charles de Gaulle in Paris — to see its centerpiece Arc de Triomphe wrapped in fabric by the late artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude.
But, away from international crowds, there are myriad lesser known projects that dot the islands of more humble traffic circles across France. A construction frenzy in recent decades to reduce accidents opened up the opportunity for creativity: how to use tens of thousands of empty spaces that range in diameter from just a few meters to the length of two soccer fields.