Paris, known as the city of lights and romance, is becoming a city of discontent for the people that live there.
At the center of this is a person named Olivier Baroin. Just fifteen years ago, Paris was a modest village for Baroin. Today? He feels it is an eternal theatre for tourists to visit and enjoy. He just moved out of his apartment, and for him that says a lot. Why? Because without realizing, Baroin’s quarter was pedestrianized, and for a citizen who has mobility difficulties, he was essentially under lockdown. Can you imagine needing to order a taxi every day of the week just to move around?
If you walk up Montmartre, where Sacré-Cœur shines down from the hill, you will see banners clearly demonstrating opposition. Literally. One of the banners hanging between balconies states, “Behind the postcard: residents mistreated by city hall.” Another reads in French, “Montmartre residents fight back.”
But here’s the twist: the beginning of this drama did not start off with protests. Those cozy old cafés? Gone. Traditional shops? Now souvenir stalls and “Instagrammable” sites. Even grocery/common stores have been driven to extinction. Locals claim they now have to rely on deliveries for basic necessities.
Urban planners refer to it as a ticking time bomb. When short term rentals, tuk-tuks, and throngs of tour groups take over, historic districts stand to become what critics refer to as “zombie cities,” beautiful shells for visitors with no real life in them. Sacré-Cœur alone gets 11 million visitors a year, more than the Eiffel Tower. That is a number that pleases tourism boards, while local people find it suffocating.
Mid-way through the mess, the city has begun to crack down. Paris is attempting to limit illegal rentals and regain control of its housing stock. Whether that is too little, too late still remains to be seen, but at least there is an acknowledgment: the city cannot continue to satisfy tourism and undernourish its own population.
Isn’t it ironic that the same charm that draws millions to Paris is now expelling residents? What happens when the posts cards no longer match the reality? That is what is happening, right now.
