Situated on the corner of Rue des Écoles and Rue Champollion, the single-screen cinema opened in 1938, replacing a bookshop. In 1956, a second screen opened in the basement, replacing a cabaret theatre. Called Actua-Champo, this screen was dedicated to news broadcasts and had its own entrance. A single entrance was installed in the late 1970s. Plans to close the Champo in the early 2000s were cancelled following popular opposition.[1]: 30
Le Champo was frequented by well-known French cineastes of the 1960s and 1970s. These included Claude Chabrol, who called it his "second university", and François Truffaut.[1]: 30
