This article focuses on two mass spectacles performed in Paris stadiums in 1937, one Catholic and the other Communist, both of which sought to picture the ideal city with the working people at centre stage. By studying these productions in the light of recent research on fascist theatre and politics, and with reference to the debate on ‘modernity’ in interwar France, the article explores the French use of theatre in responding to the aesthetic, political and social challenge of representing the masses. The parallels between these two little-known productions can also be used to illuminate a wider rivalry to orchestrate the masses and to portray them as a united national community.