Section 04
On the Stands
Named objects shown to the French public for the first time — the cars, aircraft and machines that made the salons worth attending.
A Citroën DS on a show stand, seen from the rear three-quarter.Photo: Citroën DS19 (1958) - 49068238068 · Wikimedia Commons
Named objects shown to the French public for the first time — the cars, aircraft and machines that made the salons worth attending. 6 pages.
The DS at the 1955 Salon: 749 Orders Before LunchtimeThe Citroën DS made its public debut on 5 October 1955, at the Grand Palais — and the crowd's reaction turned the stand into the most documented moment in Salon de l'Automobile history.570 words
The 4CV in 1946: a Small Car at the First Postwar SalonThe Renault 4CV's appearance at the October 1946 Salon de l'Automobile was the first time the French public saw a purpose-designed postwar small car — and it had been designed in secret under German occupation.384 words
Concorde at Le Bourget, 1969: the First Time It Flew in PublicThe 1969 Paris Air Show gave Concorde its first public stage — and four years later, the same show defined the limits of supersonic optimism.604 words
The A380's First Show: Size as the ArgumentThe Airbus A380 arrived at Le Bourget in 2005 not merely as an aircraft on display but as a logistics problem the airfield had to solve in public.314 words
The 205 in 1983: the Stand Debut That Turned Peugeot AroundA supermini shown in October 1983 at the Porte de Versailles reversed a manufacturer's fortunes and set the template for the modern European small car.394 words
3 June 1973: the Tupolev Tu-144 at Le BourgetThe day the Paris Air Show's public-spectacle format met a limit it could not absorb.378 words