Virtually to give away the price of Arc entry is no longer a sustainable policy

For all of its grace and charm, Longchamp in its 1960s incarnation – with some of the fixtures dating from the 1920s – creaked at the seams on Arc day and was increasingly being left behind by modern 21st century sporting venues.

Along with the twin concrete stands, what has also gone is the 1960s-era pricing for Arc weekend, with €75 now the cost of non-reserved access to the gleaming single structure that has replaced them.

Many racegoers have made Paris in October every bit as much an act of pilgrimage as those to Cheltenham or Royal Ascot, and some will argue it is the British and Irish visitors who make the atmosphere on Arc day unlike any other in the French racing calendar.