PARIS—Most big art fairs welcome satellite shows. Not FIAC. The Paris contemporary-art show tried to prevent newcomer Les Elysees de l’Art from setting up on a Champs-Elysees sidewalk within spitting distance of its own venue, the Grand Palais. In seeking a court injunction against the smaller fair, FIAC accused it of “commercial parasitism.” Paris dealer Baudoin Lebon, artistic director of the new event (dubbed the Salon des Refuses because some of its 50 exhibitors had previously shown at FIAC), admitted he had “feared the worst.” But after Paris mayor Bernard Delanoe declared that he didn’t object to the new fair, the Tribunal de Commerce ruled against FIAC. The rookie’s woes weren’t over, however. A generator failure plunged one of its tents into darkness on the final day.

"Neighbors Not Welcome" comes to ARTINFO from the December 2007 issue of Art & Auction magazine.