The traditional Autumn Fair which opens on 28th August 2010 until 17th October in the Bois de Boulogne, is now called the Party in the Woods.

The event, previously known as la Fête à Neu-Neu has been renamed on the occasion of the move from the lawn of Mortemart (behind the Hippodrome Auteuil).  Some 100 day rides in the Bois now find themselves on the lawn of La Muette, near the Sixteenth District and along the peripheral .

“We asked the mayor of Paris can get this new site … for economic reasons,” says Marcel Campion, head of the carnival environment, which dominates the festivities of Paris (Tuileries, Foire du Trone, at the Feast Wood). “The previous site was becoming increasingly difficult to reach,” he says.

The cause:  l’opération Paris respire (operation Paris breathes), forcing the closure of roads to cars in the Bois de Boulogne on the weekend. Decline in attendance during this operation, visitors to the festival in Neu-Neu were forced to go to the fair and walk back in the evening through the wood, which deterred deter many customers.

A spokesman for the fairground said that Paris respire had strangled the fair;  which show steep declines in attendance since the introduction of the programme. According to their organization, the number of visitors dropped from 1.5 million in 2005 to just 300,000 last year.

The transfer of the carnival on the lawn of La Muette has been welcomed by all showmen, particularly as it is now close to transport links:

Metro : Rue de la Pompe

RER : Avenue Henri Martin

Bus : No. 63