Seats at a premium as move to Chantilly dictates smaller-scale Arc

France Galop on Thursday revealed that the “house full” signs are close to going up in certain sections of Chantilly for Sunday, October 2, when the track hosts the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe for the first time.

For British and Irish visitors accustomed to the expanses of Longchamp – currently shut for redevelopment – the main thing to bear in mind is that Chantilly is smaller and has less in the way of permanent facilities than its Parisian cousin, a fact illustrated by the building of an extra 25,000m² of temporary structures for the weekend.

“It was never going to be realistic to just do the same as at Longchamp but on a slightly smaller scale, we needed something bespoke for Chantilly,” said France Galop’s director of marketing, Jean-Christophe Giletta. “The objective is to be able to welcome 40,000 people with the maximum possible comfort.”