Pharrell Williams' fashion show for Louis Vuitton on Tuesday on the Pont-Neuf in Paris is causing a stir within Mayor Anne Hidalgo's left-wing majority, with her ecologist allies denouncing a "privatisation of public space".

"An operation from another era", blasted David Belliard on Twitter, Anne Hidalgo's deputy for mobility and roads, who was present at the show. "Public space, a public good, is far too precious to be monopolised by a few multinationals and a handful of happy few", added the former ecologist candidate for the 2020 municipal elections.

Another EELV member, Emile Meunier, denounced this as "episode 45789" in the "privatisation of Parisian public space by LVMH".

Contacted by AFP, the Communist members of parliament felt that Paris "must continue" to be "the capital of fashion", but regretted the "excessive advertising for LVMH in the public space".

Rihanna, Beyonce, Jay Z, LeBron James, Lewis Hamilton, Omar Sy and Paul Pogba... So that the French luxury house could welcome 1,750 guests, including a host of stars, on Tuesday on the oldest bridge in Paris, the Préfecture de Police banned traffic on the bridge from Monday evening until Wednesday morning, as well as on the adjacent quays on Tuesday evening.

"It's an occupation of the public domain subject to a fee" that "brings in revenue for the city", replied the office of the first deputy mayor Emmanuel Grégoire, emphasising the "exceptional" nature of the event.

The evening, which was attended by officials from the Préfecture de Police and the 2024 Olympic Games Organising Committee, also served as a security "test" ahead of the opening ceremony on the Seine, the same source said.

In early June, environmentalists had already condemned another LVMH "advertisement in public space": the statue of Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, temporarily installed in front of the Samaritaine, bearing the brand's logo on its bag.

The Town Hall replied that it had granted the three-month temporary occupation permit on the basis of an application that "did not include a logo".

After an official report was drawn up, the group "complied" by "removing the logo" and the Town Hall agreed to a one-month extension for the statue, explained the same source.