The Premium of Paris: Why Higher Ticket Prices Aren't Deterring Foreigners from the Louvre or Versailles

For years, a quiet economic shift has been taking place across Europe’s most iconic cultural landmarks: differentiated pricing. It’s a strategy where foreign tourists are charged significantly more for admission than local residents or citizens.

While critics initially worried that bumping up prices for international travelers would spark a backlash or drive crowds away, the reality on the ground in France tells a completely different story. Despite paying a premium, foreign tourists are flocking to landmarks like the Louvre Museum and the Palace of Versailles in record numbers.

Here is an inside look at why differentiated ticket pricing isn't deterring global travelers, and why Paris remains an unstoppable tourism juggernaut.

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1. The "Once-in-a-Lifetime" Mindset

For an international traveler flying from New York, Tokyo, or Sydney, the cost of a museum ticket is a drop in the bucket compared to the grand total of their trip.

When a traveler has already spent thousands of dollars on flights, hotels, and dining, an extra €10 or €15 on an admission ticket feels negligible. To someone who has dreamed of seeing the Mona Lisa or walking through the Hall of Mirrors their entire life, the experience is functionally price-inelastic. They are going to pay whatever it takes to get through the gates.

2. A Shift Toward Premium, Frictionless Experiences

Tourists today aren't just paying for entry; they are paying for a smoother experience. Landmarks have successfully softened the blow of higher prices by bundling them with improved digital infrastructure:

• Mandatory Time-Slot Booking: Virtually eliminating the infamous multi-hour queues of the past.
• Enhanced Digital Guides: Better apps and interactive maps included or easily added to the premium ticket.
• Exclusive Access: Special evening hours or combined exhibition passes that make the ticket feel like a premium product rather than a standard entry fee.

When travelers feel they are getting an organized, high-quality experience, the sting of a higher price tag vanishes.

3. The Ethical Acceptance of "Subsidizing" Heritage

Interstingly, modern travelers are increasingly conscious of the cost of cultural preservation. There is a growing, widespread acceptance that local tax dollars keep these historic institutions running year-round.

Foreign visitors generally understand that their higher ticket prices help fund massive restoration projects, maintain security, and keep these world treasures preserved for future generations. Rather than feeling exploited, many see it as a fair trade for consuming another country’s cultural heritage.

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The Bottom Line

Landmark	The Draw	Why Price Doesn't Matter
The Louvre	World's largest art museum, home to unrivaled history.	Seeing the Mona Lisa is a non-negotiable bucket-list item.
Versailles	Peak French royal opulence and sprawling gardens.	A full-day excursion where entry cost is secondary to the destination.

As Paris continues to dominate global tourism rankings, the data is clear: travelers value access over economy. Differentiated pricing hasn't dampened the allure of France's greatest treasures—it has simply proven that true cultural icons are genuinely priceless.

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Travelore News: Why Three Iconic Paris Hotels Just Lost Their "Palace" Status

In the world of ultra-luxury travel, there is five-star hospitality, and then there is "Palace" status. Granted exclusively by the French tourism board (Atout France), the Distinction Palace is the holy grail of hotel ratings—a title reserved for establishments that represent the absolute pinnacle of French elegance, history, and flawless service.

But a major seismic shift has just hit the luxury sector. For the first time since the accolade was established in 2010, the Palace Commission has stripped the title from legendary properties.

While the headline-grabbing news focuses on the Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme and the Mandarin Oriental Paris, a third legendary French property—the historic Hôtel du Palais in Biarritz—was also downgraded. Effectively, the Hyatt group took a double blow, losing two Palace distinctions in a single wave.

Here is a look inside the dramatic shakeup rocking the City of Light's hospitality scene.

The Fallen Icons: What Happened?

To maintain a Palace distinction, hotels are re-evaluated every few years. The standards are unapologetically brutal. If a property slips on maintenance, fails to refresh its guest experience, or stops innovating, the commission will pull the plaque.

The three casualties of the 2026 review failed to meet the required criteria for distinct reasons:

Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme: Located on the ultra-prestigious Rue de la Paix, the Park Hyatt has long been a favorite for corporate titans and affluent travelers. However, the commission penalized the property for a lack of renewal and insufficient restoration. Guests and insiders had recently noted that the rooms and tech were beginning to feel dated compared to newer, hyper-polished competitors.

Mandarin Oriental Paris: Situated on Rue Saint-Honoré, the Mandarin Oriental’s situation is a bit different. The hotel is actually closing for over a year to undergo a massive, top-to-bottom transformation of its rooms, suites, public spaces, and spa. Because it will be out of commission and unable to serve guests up to standard during this time, it has lost the status for now—though a play to regain it post-renovation is almost guaranteed.

Hôtel du Palais (Biarritz): Outside of Paris, this imperial palace (originally built by Napoleon III for Empress Eugénie) was downgraded because major parts of the property—specifically the spa, the breakfast room, and the north wing bathrooms—were left out of its recent multi-million-dollar renovation project.

Note: All three properties still retain their prestigious five-star ratings. They are still elite, spectacular hotels—they just no longer belong to the ultra-exclusive "Palace" club.

What It Takes to Be a French "Palace"

The Palace distinction isn't just about having high thread-count sheets. To even apply, a hotel must meet strict baseline metrics:

Rooms must be a minimum of 26 square meters (approx. 280 sq. ft.)—a massive footprint by Parisian standards.

The property must feature a world-class spa, valet parking, and a high ratio of suites.

Once the baseline is met, a 14-member jury from the worlds of art, literature, culture, and business evaluates the "soul" of the hotel. They look for an exceptional location, deep historical heritage, high-level gastronomy (usually Michelin-starred), and highly personalized, bespoke service. ---

The New Shape of Paris Luxury

With the official "Palace Collection" announcement coming on June 2, Paris will temporarily drop from 12 officially recognized Palaces down to 10.

The Remaining Paris PalacesHotel

Vibe / Highlight

Four Seasons George V - Legendary floral displays & multi-Michelin-starred dining

Cheval Blanc Paris - Contemporary Art Deco luxury right on the Seine

Hôtel de Crillon - Historic grandeur overlooking Place de la Concorde

Plaza Athénée - Haute couture energy on Avenue MontaigneLe BristolClassic, old-world Parisian elegance and a famous resident cat

La Réserve Paris - The smallest Palace; feels like an ultra-private club

Other reigning Paris palaces include Le Meurice, The Peninsula, Shangri-La, and the Hôtel Lutetia.

The Lesson: Luxury is Never Permanent

This historic downgrade serves as a stark reminder to the hospitality industry: Prestige is never permanently acquired. The ultra-luxury market in Paris has intensified fiercely over the last decade. With newer, ultra-modern heavyweights like the Cheval Blanc raising the bar, and long-standing rumors that elite properties like The Ritz Paris or the Bvlgari Hotel might be gunning for official Palace status next, no one can afford to rest on their laurels.

In the luxury world, if you aren't constantly evolving, you are falling behind.

Travelore News: Paris Overtourism Heats Up At Notre Dame And The Louvre

The latest symbols of overtourism are two iconic Paris attractions known worldwide. Notre Dame Cathedral has been overwhelmed by visitors since reopening after a destructive fire and the Louvre museum, home of the “Mona Lisa,” is a crumbling gilded palace, forced to close its doors due to crowds.

Notre Dame Cathedral

Since the December 2024 re-opening of Notre Dame Cathedral, the visitor experience has changed. While always a popular attraction for visitors to Paris, visits were more manageable prior to the fire of 2019.

Crowds have grown considerably, creating long lines of people standing in the forecourt outside the entrance. The average number of daily visitors to Notre Dame currently stands at 29,000, a nearly 20% increase since the re-opening. Depending on the day of the week and time of day, wait times range from 15 minutes to more than two hours.

Strategies for shortening wait time include going first thing in the morning or booking a 30-minute free tour with a timed entry ticket reservation online or via the app. Slots for party sizes up to six people are only available a few hours prior to entry and sell out quickly. Opening times at Notre Dame are normally 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and until 10 p.m. on Thursdays. The Saturday and Sunday hours are 8:15 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Three daily masses are celebrated at 8 a.m., 12 p.m., and 6 p.m.

Louvre Museum

At Musée du Louvre, the world’s most-visited museum, the doors were shuttered on at least one day last week, prompted by exhausted staff refusing to take up their positions.

CNN reports, “The Louvre welcomed 8.7 million visitors last year — more than double what its infrastructure was designed to accommodate. Even with a daily cap of 30,000, staff say the experience has become a test of endurance, with too few rest areas, limited bathrooms, and summer heat magnified by the pyramid’s greenhouse effect.”

“Roughly 20,000 people a day squeeze into the Salle des États, the museum’s largest room, just to snap a selfie with Leonardo da Vinci’s enigmatic woman behind protective glass.”

Tickets are required. Tours ae available in Engish, French, Spanish, and Italian. The Louvre hours are Monday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Extended hours to 9 p.m. are on Wednesday and Friday. Ticket prices are 22 euros, with free admission offered with proof of I.D. to everyone under age 18 and those under age 26 as a resident of the EEA (EU countries plus Norway, Iceland, and Lichtenstein). Additional free admssions are extended to disabled persons plus one, certain art instructors, and journalists with required credentials. Free admission to all is offered on the first Friday of the month after 6 p.m., except during July and August.

https://libertepress.com/author/laurie-jo-miller-farr/

Olympic Fans Can Eat, Drink And Cheer In A Mini World’s Fair In Paris Park

Sip a cool caipirinha cocktail in Brazil. Sample a spicy samosa in India. Boogie down with a DJ in France ‘til the early hours. Or, do all three in a day — and perhaps meet some athletes, too.

If you’re in Paris but don’t have tickets for the Olympics, organizers want you to know that you can spend your days — and boozy nights, too — at the Parc des Nations, or Nations Park, which is hosting 15 festive national team clubhouses in what amounts to a mini-World’s Fair on the edge of Paris.

The project gives a temporary new name to Parc de la Villette, a sprawling 135-acre (55-hectare) space in the northeastern corner of the capital. It opens Saturday, once Friday’s ambitious opening ceremony on the Seine River is over, along with its enormous security demands.

Imagine one huge, multicultural fan zone. The idea is for visitors to connect with each other, with Olympic athletes (who will come for medal celebrations) and with the Games themselves, organizers said.

“The slogan of these Olympics is ‘Games Wide Open,’ and we wanted to bring that to life,” said Amelie Guignabert of Paris 2024, the Olympic organizing committee. “We really believe in it.”

All they need, she noted, is the fans — and officials are advertising in the Paris Metro and elsewhere.

Certainly, there is room for them. The biggest house is not surprisingly, Club France, where there is capacity for 5,000 to 6,000 people inside and 20,000 in the outside spaces, which include two huge fields.
Other team clubhouses are Casa Brazil, Canada Team House, Casa Colombia, Czech House, India House, Casa Mexico, Team NL (Netherlands) House, Mongolia House, Serbian House, Slovak House, Slovenian House, Chinese Taipei Pavilion, Volia Space (Ukraine) and Ekhaya South Africa.
Inside Club France is a large stage, where athletes will appear after winning medals and where nightly music events will be offered, including sets from DJs like Bob Sinclar, said Arnaud Courtier, executive director of Club France.

“We like to party,” he said.

Fans can pay 5 euros ($5.42) and stay as long as they like, watching Olympic competitions on a giant screen and athlete interviews, cheering medal winners and buying food and drink. Or, they can buy a package that could run up to 385 euros ($418) for an all-night open bar and a prime spot on the stage.

Outside are some 20 makeshift pavilions designed by architecture students that house various French sports federations. Among other activities, visitors will be able to learn from coaches and try their hand at sports.

The project started with a decision to put Club France at La Villette, said Sophie-Justine Lieber, the park’s general director. Then, countries that didn’t have clubs elsewhere decided to join in.

The park, with its many structures, was able to accommodate particular needs — for example, Slovenia and the Czech Republic wanted places with kitchens to emphasize their national cuisines, and Mongolia wanted outdoor space to erect yurts, the traditional circular dwellings.

As for beach volleyball? That’s an attraction at Brazil’s house, along with music like samba and funk. And, of course, the national cocktail, caipirinha, as well as pao de queijo, the Brazilian cheese bread.

Organizers at India’s pavilion announced it was the country’s first house at an Olympics, a step toward their dream of bringing the Games one day to India.

India House spares no effort to highlight the country’s rich culture — it has brought in a huge loom, for example, where artisans are weaving traditional saris and carpets. Among many exhibits, one wall displays Gond art from the state of Madhya Pradesh, along with photos of every Indian athlete competing this year.

A key face among them: javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, a star in India who has 9 million Instagram followers.

There will be Indian food, of course — samosas, spiced chai tea, savory dhokla and more. Bollywood music will play, and fans will be able to try yoga and cricket.

Organizer B. Srinivasan, greeting the media Tuesday evening, declared these Games a perfect moment to introduce a new India and pointed to the many notables India has exported to the world – including political figures with Indian heritage like Rishi Sunak, the former British prime minister. And, in the most timely of references, Kamala Harris, the U.S. vice president who is now running for the top job after President Joe Biden ended his campaign for a second term.

BY JOCELYN NOVECK

Paris Is Getting A Huge Whole New Metro Network, With A Targeted Opening For The Olympics

With gorgeous art nouveau entrances, maze-like tunnels and trains that rattle briskly under, and occasionally over, some of the world’s most famous streets, it’s a transport network that has inspired movies, novels and poetry.

It has stations named after a South American revolutionary, a US president and a Soviet victory. Fittingly, in a city that is home to some of the world’s most famous galleries, some of the stations are considered works of art in their own right.

But the Paris Métro railway system, built in the 1900s and now carrying nearly four million passengers every day, is struggling to cope with the demands of modern commuting, its ageing facilities and infrastructure creaking under the city’s growing population.

For many in Paris, particularly those living or working around its less fashionable outer suburbs, it’s a challenge to navigate across the city without having to route each journey through the central districts, adding travel time and worsening congestion.

But change is coming – and on a huge scale. The venerable Paris Métro is about to get its most significant upgrade in decades with the arrival of the Grand Paris Express, a new 200-kilometer (120-mile) system that will add four lines and 68 brand-new stations to the network.

These will mainly be connecting suburban towns without passing through the densely populated city of Paris – adding outer rings to an underground map of Paris that has, until now, been made of 14 lines that only reach out from the center like spokes.

It’s been an epic undertaking. Construction of the lines, which began in 2016, is the biggest civilian infrastructure project in Europe, according to the French government. Inevitably, given the scale, it has been hit by delays.

Driverless trains

But that didn’t stop the city from showing some Parisian pzazz late last month as the first train for the new Métro lines was taken for a test drive, attracting crowds of invited onlookers to a railway depot in the suburb of Champigy-sur-Marne.

The 108-meter-long six-car train, the first of its kind produced by Alstom for the Grand Paris Express, made its debut amid triumphal music and a light show of lasers in the French flag colors of white, blue and red.

“To change people’s lives, we will have to change how they move,” French Transport Minister Clément Beaune said at the November 28 event, which saw the train make a successful two-kilometer test run along a section of line 15, one of the new routes.

A rendering showing how part of Gare Villejuif, one of the stations on the new Grand Paris Express network, will look.

France hopes the Grand Paris Express will significantly cut transport time for suburb-to-suburb movement on public transit and reduce car usage for residents in the Greater Paris region.

Unlike other Métro lines, it will use driverless trains to create a fully automatic rapid transport network, meaning there will be no need to hire and train new drivers, plus there will be greater resilience against disruptions from strikes.

“We are on the right track for success,” Beaune laughed. “It will serve as a good example for cities across France.”

Paris was among the world’s first cities to have a metro system. Its first line opened in 1900 as part of the city’s construction efforts to host the Olympic Games that same year. It expanded rapidly and extensively during the decades that followed.

Prior to the opening of the Grand Paris Express, it had already evolved into a sprawling 800-kilometer mega system encompassing 16 central city metro lines and five Réseau Express Régional, or RER, commuter rail lines for the surrounding suburbs.

The new project will introduce four new lines – 15, 16, 17 and 18 - plus extensions to existing lines 11 and 14.

A greener future

For many living in the city, the new routes can’t come quickly enough.

“I love living in Versailles but sometimes it’s just a lot,” said Lauren Bain, 26, a journalist working in Paris but living in the city of Versailles, roughly 20 kilometers southwest of the capital.

Bain says she attends church in the neighboring town of Saint Aubin, ostensibly a 20-minute drive away, but two hours by bus, which is how she currently makes the journey. It can take even longer; she was stuck on a bus half-submerged in water during heavy rainfall.

She commutes to work in the center of Paris via the RER C line, which she has little love for despite the convenience of a station in Versailles.

Once the new Grand Paris Express line 18 opens, connecting Versailles directly to Saint Aubin, as well as Paris Orly Airport, the city’s second-busiest, her options are set to improve.

“Line 18 cannot open sooner,” Bain said.

Mohamed Mezghani, secretary general of the International Association of Public Transport, based in Brussels, says the new lines puts Paris at the forefront of city public transport networks – alongside Tokyo, Moscow and Washington D.C., looking to reduce environmental impact through suburban interconnectivity.

“The Grand Paris Express, with its circular lines, encourages movement from suburb to suburb,” Mezghani said.

“People in big cities are realizing that cars are not a solution, congestion keeps worsening and building more roads will only attract more traffic.

“We need this updated version of public transportation.”

“That thing is terrible,” she said. “I arrive late at work all the time! Just earlier this week, my train was canceled for no reason.”

The Olympic finish line

One big question for many Parisians – and for visitors to the city – is whether the new network will be operational in time for the 2024 Olympic Games, which will mostly be staged around the French capital.

This was the original plan when the project was announced by then President Nicolas Sarkozy in 2009, long before the city won its Olympic bid. But numerous delays have stretched the timeline.

A full opening of line 14 by now, plus partial opening of lines 15, 16, 17 and 18, which together connect to both Paris international airports, had been promised by Sarkozy and his successor François Hollande.

However, the project has been hit by various setbacks during the years, including construction site floods, delays in equipment delivery, and perhaps most crucial of all, the Covid pandemic.

And eight months before the 2024 Olympic Games, only the extension of line 14 to Orly Airport is expected to open in time. The other lines will gradually come on line starting in late 2025, according to the project’s official website.

France’s Transport Ministry remains upbeat about the impact the new rail lines will have on Paris, insisting that network capacity will be increased by 15% in time for the Games, which are forecast to attract millions of visitors to the city, already a popular summer destination.

“Our action plan is clear, and we’re on schedule,” it told CNN.

Even behind schedule, the new lines are likely to enhance the French capital’s appeal.

As writer Ernest Hemingway once remarked: “There are only two places in the world where we can live happy: at home and in Paris.” And once the new Grand Express lines open, hopefully the distance between them will shrink a little further.

By Xiaofei Xu, CNN

Paris: Notre Dame Cathedral Set To Reopen In December 2024

The reconstruction of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is going fast enough to allow its reopening to visitors and faithful at the end of 2024, less than six years after a fire ravaged its roof, French officials said Monday.

The cathedral’s iconic spire, which collapsed in the blaze, will gradually start reappearing above the monument this year in a powerful signal of its revival, the army general in charge of the colossal project, Gen. Jean-Louis Georgelin, said.

“The return of the spire in Paris’ sky will in my opinion be the symbol that we are winning the battle of Notre Dame,” he told the Associated Press.

The reconstruction itself started last year, after more than two years of work to make the monument stable and secure enough for artisans to start rebuilding it.

Authorities have made the choice to rebuild the 12th century monument, a masterpiece of Gothic architecture, the way it was before. That includes recreating the 93-meter-high (315 ft) spire added in the 19th century by architect Eugene Viollet-le-Duc.

Meanwhile, an exhibition called “Notre-Dame de Paris: at the heart of the construction site” is to open to visitors on Tuesday in an underground facility in front of the cathedral. Accessible for free, it highlights ongoing operations on the site and the expertise and skills of workers. It also features some remains from the fire and works of art from the cathedral.

Gen. Georgelin said the cathedral will reopen in December 2024, in line with the goal set by President Emmanuel Macron just after the fire — yet it will be too late for the Paris Olympic Games scheduled in summer next year.

“My job is to be ready to open this cathedral in 2024. And we will do it,” Gen. Georgelin said. “We are fighting every day for that and we are on a good path.”

This “means that the archbishop of the capital will be in a capacity again to celebrate the Catholic liturgy in his cathedral” and the monument will also “be open for tourists to visit,” he said.

Culture Minister Rima Abdul-Malak told the AP that this doesn’t mean all the renovation will be finished then. “There will still be some renovation work going on in 2025,” she stressed.

Meanwhile, the new exhibition near the cathedral will allow visitors, including those coming for the Olympics, “to live what could be this experience of visiting Notre-Dame in a brand new way,” she said. In addition to the free visit, a virtual reality show will allow paying visitors to dive into the history of the cathedral. “That will help also tourism in Paris,” she added.

Everyday in the capital and across the country, about 1,000 people work to rebuild Notre Dame, Gen. Georgelin said.

“The biggest challenge is to comply precisely every day to the planning we have done,” he stressed. “We have a lot of different works to achieve: the framework, the painting, the stones, the vault, the organ, the stained glass and so on.”

Philippe Jost, managing director of the government agency overseeing the reconstruction, noted that the result “will be faithful to the original architecture” both because “we are sticking to the vanished shapes of the cathedral” and because ”we are also sticking to the materials and construction methods” of medieval times.

“We don’t do concrete vaults that look like stone, we do stone vaults that we rebuild as they were built in the Middle Ages,” Jost said, adding that the roof framework will also be made from oak like it initially was.

By JEFFREY SCHAEFFER and SYLVIE CORBET

Stella McCartney Dabbles In Art At Eco-Pioneering Paris Show

It was as much art fair as fashion show for Stella McCartney, who put on an art-infused spring collection at Paris Fashion Week on Monday that vibrated with flashes of color.

Iconic Japanese contemporary artist Yoshitomo Nara collaborated on the designs showcased at Paris’ Pompidou Center Modern Art Museum, while art megastar Jeff Koons casually popped in to say ‘hello’ to McCartney post-show, peering at her comically across an atelier of world-famous sculptures by Constantin Brancusi.

The display also pioneered the use of regenerative cotton.

Here are some highlights of spring-summer 2023 collections:

STELLA GOES ARTSY

A yellow, red and blue carpeted runway dazzled VIP guests for McCartney’s show in the outdoor courtyard of Paris’ Pompidou Center — a set created in homage to the art museum’s famous colored, structuralist exterior.

This vibrancy continued in the spring fare that was typically fluid and sporty, with moments of bright color.

This season, chic garments such as asymmetrical white minidresses cut on the bias, or tight pink scuba tops with a scooped side silhouette, were to become the canvas for Nara’s vivid imagination.

On the front of them, the Japanese artist had created striking images of big-eyed girls and children in animal costumes — which the house described as “sinister.”

The most-fun looks were in all-out-color, such as a stiff looking chalky yellow scuba top and pant look accessorized with bouncy black flip-flops and a blown up handbag.

That cut a fine look against the bright yellow catwalk and had fashion insiders reaching for their cameras.

ECO-MCCARTNEY MAKES REGENERATIVE COTTON

Speaking backstage after a brief greet with her supportive Beatles father Paul McCartney, Stella said she was “chuffed” that this spring collection set a house record for being 87% sustainable.

“It’s my most sustainable yet. I hope nothing was sacrificed; you shouldn’t see any of the sustainability — it should still look luxurious,” she said, to the group of nodding editors amid the sound of popping champagne.

Since her house was acquired by luxury giant LVMH, McCartney has also taken up a lobbying role inside the company for it to be more eco-aware. This season, one of the fruits of that appeared on the runway. The designer said LVMH has paid for a three-year pilot to make regenerative cotton — grown in ways that maintain the health of the soil.

She said that the process “captures carbon in the soil” and “encourages nature as opposed to destroying it with pesticides.”

Elaborating on her advisory role inside the world’s biggest luxury group, McCartney described it as bringing a “positive impact,” especially having CEO Bernard Arnault on the front row seeing up close the success of eco-friendly ready-to-wear.

“He’s not stupid — it filters in,” she said. “He can look at all of those bags and all of those shoes and all of those non-leather jackets and he can compare between his other houses and see that there is no sacrifice visually.”

By THOMAS ADAMSON

Travelore News: Flights Disrupted As French Air Traffic Controllers Walk Out

Many domestic and some international flights were canceled in France Friday as air traffic controllers went on a national strike over pay and recruitment issues.

French civil aviation authority DGAC warned that domestic traffic would be “severely disrupted” with many flights canceled and other experiencing long delays. Travelers have been advised to postpone their trip if possible.

Air France said it has canceled 55% of its short- and medium-haul flights and 10% of its long-haul flights. The company could not rule out further delays and last-minute cancellations, it said in a statement.

Other companies operating in France, including Ryanair, Easyjet and Volotea, have also canceled flights.

Mamadou Souré, 42, arrived Friday morning at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport from Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

“We were supposed to take a flight to Milan at 9:30 a.m. but it was canceled, but thank God we found a flight at 1:30 p.m. for Turin. We’ll see if we can make it to Milan from there,” he said.

Maria Oudon, from Orlando, Florida, was relieved to see her flight mentioned as “on time” on the airport’s board. “We did spend all night worrying about it because they said to possibly change your flight or have other options. And we still came because we had to take our daughter to school,” she said.

France’s main union of air traffic controllers, the SNCTA, called the one-day strike to demand higher pay amid soaring inflation and demanding more staff to be hired in the coming years.

Eiffel Tower To Go Dark Earlier As Paris Saves Energy

Lights on the Eiffel Tower will soon be turned off more than an hour earlier at night to save electricity, the Paris mayor announced Tuesday, as Russia’s war in Ukraine deepens an energy crisis in Europe.

Mayor Anne Hidalgo said the iconic tower that is normally illuminated until 1 a.m. is only one of the city’s monuments and municipal buildings that will be plunged into darkness earlier in the evening as the French capital — like the rest of France and Europe — faces risks of power shortages, rationing and blackouts when energy demand surges this winter.

Russia has reduced natural gas supplies to several European countries as they support Ukraine, sending prices for gas and electricity surging. It’s fueled inflation and raised fears about shrinking supplies as the heating season draws near, forcing countries to enact conservation measures and relief for consumers and businesses. While some European companies have reduced or halted production as energy prices surge, the European Union is looking to pass proposals to ease the crisis.

Lights on the Eiffel Tower will be turned off after the last visitor leaves at 11:45 p.m., starting Sept. 23, Hidalgo said. Other landmarks operated by the city, such as Saint-Jacques tower and City Hall, will be turned off at 10 p.m.

“It’s a symbolic, but an important step,” Hidalgo said, brushing off criticism that Paris authorities could do more to reduce energy consumption by 10% — the target set in July by President Emmanuel Macron as part of a nationwide “sobriety plan” to conserve energy.

For safety reasons, streetlights will stay on across Paris and the ornate bridges over the Seine River also will remain illuminated at night, Hidalgo told reporters.

To align with France’s savings plan, she said she will press the government to adjust the lighting on national monuments in Paris, such as the domed Pantheon and the Arc de Triomphe, the famous Napoleonic arch that dominates the Champs-Elysees Avenue.

Paris authorities also aim to save energy by moving back when they turn on the heat in public buildings by a whole month, from mid-October to mid-November. They also plan to lower the temperature in public buildings by 1 degree, from 19 to 18 degrees Celsius (66 to 64 degrees Fahrenheit) during office hours, and to 16 C after hours and on weekends.

By NICOLAS GARRIGA and BARBARA SURK

French Tourism Better Than Pre-COVID, Despite Climate Woes

Tourism came back with a vengeance to France this summer, sending revenues over pre-pandemic levels, according to government estimates released this week.

Crowds packed Paris landmarks and Riviera beaches, notably thanks to an influx of Americans benefiting from the weak euro, but also British and other European visitors reveling in the end of pandemic restrictions.

“It’s beautiful to go again to travel,” said Serena Veronese, a tourist from Lago Maggiore in Italy soaking in the view of the Eiffel Tower. She and her husband work for an airline and “suffered a lot” as the COVID-19 crisis grounded planes worldwide. “Now people have to go traveling again, they have to.”

The summer surge came despite exceptionally hot weather in France and around Europe, record drought and devastating wildfires. The season saw chaos in European airports and rising prices that hit tourists, too.

Spending on tourism in France reached pre-pandemic levels and has even surpassed it in some areas, Tourism Minister Olivia Gregoire told reporters.

According to the government’s preliminary estimates, tourism spending in France this summer was 10% higher than 2019, based on data from bank card use and lodging and restaurant revenues.

All that is important for an industry that accounts for 8% of the French economy and 2 million jobs.

Tourist visits are expected to ebb as autumn kicks in, but the summer influx was so big that the French government is considering ways to make tourism of the future more sustainable, such as imposing crowd limits in popular spots and drawing travelers to less-famous sites.

France saw 90 million tourists in 2019, and could eventually hit 100 million a year as tourism rebounds and as France hosts global events like next year’s Rugby World Cup and the 2024 Olympics, Gregoire said.

“We can’t necessarily follow the same practices in 10, 20 years, given the climate episodes we are facing,” Gregoire told reporters.

As concerns resurface about the impact of overtourism, Gregoire said France is aiming to “rethink tourism today and tomorrow” to provide better quality experiences, take climate and emissions into account and ensure that people of all incomes can enjoy tourist experiences.

About three out of every 10 French people didn’t take a summer vacation, mainly because they couldn’t afford to.

Of the foreigners who visited France this summer, there was a “big return” of British tourists and “the Americans came back in force,” along with Dutch, German and Belgian visitors, said Hugo Alvarez, head of French tourism development agency Atout France.

Overlooking the Seine River, Lucrecia Evans of Houston said: “Our dollar is a lot stronger for us. We have done a lot more shopping, I am taking out more euros to take home for my next trip, because the dollar is stronger to the euro right now which is normally not the case.”

American and European visitors made up for a notable absence of Asian tourists in France, kept home by continued virus restrictions in some countries. France has lifted nearly all COVID rules.

“We were here just before the COVID crisis the last time,” said Ainsley Taylor, visiting Paris from Banbury, England. “It’s great to be back.”

By JADE LE DELEY and NICOLAS GARRIGA

Paris Fashion Houses Showcase Designs Inside Top Art Museums

PARIS (AP) — From the dizzying heights of the Pompidou Center to the lofty halls of the Musee d’Orsay, Paris fashion houses showed off the city’s most monumental art museums on Monday as they near the finish line of ready-to-wear collections.

Guests watched as vibrant fall-winter styles snaked in between marble sculptures, avant-garde installations and Oscar-winning celebrities on the season’s penultimate day.

Not only was Stella McCartney one of the first brands to stage a show atop the French National Museum of Modern Art — but the collection itself was inspired by a contemporary artist.

Louis Vuitton, meanwhile, attracted the stars — including actors Emma Stone, Julianne Moore, Jennifer Connelly and Alicia Vikander — to designer Nicolas Ghesquiere’s study in adolescent experimentations.

Here are some highlights:

A TALE OF TWO STELLAS

Louis Vuitton leaned into a ’70s aesthetic with pizazz for fall-winter by using a namesake — U.S. artist Frank Stella, known for his geometric patterns — as creative springboard.

A faux-fur striped coat in cream and brown resembling a dressing gown — and channeling the artist Stella’s linear motifs — introduced a retro tone from the outset. It was a rare foray for the normally sporty and contemporary brand but was handled with fun. This first look sported giant statement shoulders and tubular arms, while its big flappy belt looked almost poised to tug the coat open sensually.

Rounded shoulders and large labels — key ’70s details — graced more sober-than-normal McCartney styles, appearing in one instance on a long dark coat with generous proportions that evoked the geometric lines of the 85-year-old Stella, who had to sign off on all the runway looks.

McCartney said the process was “really funny because Frank’s really moody and we love him for it.”McCartney said the process was “really funny because Frank’s really moody and we love him for it.”
Experimentations in fabric were also of note, including a sheeny material (“not latex, not leather”) which appeared on a series of fabulous ’70s gowns with shoulder drapes that moved weightlessly. Editors understandably asked the designer what the material was.

“It was made by coating the fabric. I don’t think if you could ever get that kind of movement in real leather, but in faux leather. I was really excited when I found that fabric as it reacted to color so nicely,” McCartney said.

McCARTNEY ON UKRAINE

A message of protest against the war in Ukraine boomed around the Pompidou Center. It was a recording of President John F. Kennedy iconic “A Strategy of Peace” speech given at the American University in Washington D.C. in 1963.

“We do not want a war,” it repeated, prompting McCartney’s front row guests to discuss the dire geo-political events. The show also ended with a song by Paul McCartney’s former bandmate, John Lennon: “Give Peace a Chance.”

“I wanted to let everyone know that, here at Stella, we are anti-war,” Stella told AP after the show. “We feel tremendous sadness for what the people of Ukraine are going through.”

McCartney said that she wanted to address the conflict since continuing with the razzmatazz of fashion seems “a very strange thing to do in the circumstances. So we wanted to make a statement against war and against what’s happened.”

The fashion show was dedicated to the people affected by the conflict, while Stella McCartney made a donation to CARE, an organization providing emergency crisis support to 4 million Ukrainians.

“It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what we’re all witnessing in the world,” she added.

MINNIE MOUSE GETS STELLA MAKEOVER

One of the celebrity guests at the Pompidou Center show who was definitely not doing interviews was Minnie Mouse. The loveable Disney rodent made a rare appearance, posing with guests with Notre Dame cathedral visible in the distance, to show off her new fashion look designed by Stella McCartney.

Gone were the famed white bloomers created in 1928. In their place was a sheeny navy blue tuxedo pantsuit created to celebrate empowerment and Women’s History Month.

“Minnie Mouse’s was crafted with responsible materials – offering a new take on her signature polka dots, and dressing her to be a symbol of empowerment for a new generation,” the house said.

The pantsuit will be worn by Minnie at special Disney events.

LOUIS VUITTON’S DRESSING-UP BOX

It was the wilderness of adolescence inspiring Monday’s show by Louis Vuitton — a vibrant ode to romanticism, or the fleeting moments of youth when character is forged for life.

Clashing, grumpy and vibrant looks cut fun, unexpected styles. At times it looked as if the model had grabbed whatever she had in her mom and dad’s closet — some new, some vintage — and put them together to create ensembles with strange, often oversized, trapeze silhouettes.

If it all sounds scruffy, it was not — held together by both creative director Nicolas Ghesquiere’s deft styling, and his eye for balance in shape and bright color. There was also more than a dose of humor and surrealism to the 48-strong display.

In a series of preppy looks, an oversize patterned tie in yellow clashed intentionally with billowing gray woolen high waisted pants. Further on, Ghesquiere got creative with a theatrical gold apron style that had fringed cascading sections that evoked both a scarf and an Elizabethan full skirt. Underneath, to complete the contradictions, lay a gray schoolgirl’s skirt and colorful leather sneakers.

Silhouette-wise, fall introduced a wide and flattened lower midriff — that shot out either side dramatically, as pockets or whooshes of fabric.

ARTISTIC COLLABORATION

Louis Vuitton, of the LVMH group, used the occasion to reveal it has sealed a new long-term partnership with the Musee d’Orsay, which holds the world’s largest collection of Impressionist and post-Impressionist art. Louis Vuitton will use its formidable coffers to promote the museum and its associated art collections — that span 1848 to 1914 and dovetail with the birth of Louis Vuitton, originally a trunk maker, in the 19th century.

The fall-winter event marked the first time in history that the museum and former railway station hosted a fashion show. Speaking of the partnership, Ghesquiere said it “resonates with me in so many ways. It’s a museum built on embracing innovation over time, be it through its iconic clock; once-radical technology, such as photography; paintings by modern masters, and its unique place in Paris as one of the most emblematic cultural destinations.”

GIAMBATTISTA VALLI IS LEOPARD FABULOUS

Another designer, another art museum. This time it was the turn of the talented Giambattista Valli, who showcased his winter wares, which riffed on the ’60s, at the Musee d’Art Moderne.

The main creative flourish was a brilliant take on prints. Valli stretched a leopard print — like it had literally been elongated on a printer — putting it on an exaggeratedly long pea coat that looked itself as if it had been stretched.

On another look, this stretched leopard print appeared flat on a mini dress like paper printed straight from the machine. And then again in a look with a black bar over the bust area — in a humorous nod to censorship.

The collection also featured historic musing, such as the leopard print that pollinated across some dropped Elizabethan-style cuffs that cut a chic style contradiction with a ’60s miniskirt.

France Seeks To Avoid A Lockdown With Tougher Vaccine Rules

Facing a jump in COVID-19 hospitalizations, France’s government is trying to push through a law requiring vaccination to enter any restaurant and many other public places, and warning of tougher measures if the current surge of infections doesn’t recede.

The government on Tuesday dropped efforts to require a health pass for all workplaces, however, amid opposition from unions and employers..

French Prime Minister Jean Castex spent the day Tuesday meeting with French mayors and lawmakers to persuade them to support tougher vaccine rules.

French travelers and families, meanwhile, were flocking to virus testing tents ahead of the holidays.

France’s virus hospitalization numbers have shot up in recent weeks, with some 16,000 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 and 60% of the country’s ICU beds occupied by virus patients, according to the state health agency. Confirmed weekly virus infections are at the highest level in France since the pandemic began.

Most are infected with the delta variant, but more than one in three new cases in the Paris region is the fast-spreading omicron variant, French government spokesman Gabriel Attal said.

“We don’t have a second to lose,” he told reporters. “The situation in the hospitals is tense.”

The French government wants a law passed by Jan. 15 requiring vaccination to enter restaurants and many public venues, he said. Currently a “health pass” is required to enter all such spaces in France, but people can get the pass with either a vaccination certificate, a negative virus test or proof of recent recovery from COVID-19.

France also is ramping up vaccination and booster efforts, with doses made available to all children 5-11 starting Wednesday. More than 89% of French people 12 and over have had at least two vaccine shots, and about 40% of adults have had three doses, Attal said.

French Will Need Health Pass By August 9th After Court Approval

PARIS (AP) — A French constitutional court on Thursday validated most aspects of a new law that, starting next week, requires people to carry a special COVID-19 health pass to access cafes, restaurants, long-distance travel and, in some cases, hospitals. But it struck down several measures for not meeting constitutional muster.

The Constitutional Council ruled that the automatic 10-day isolation of people infected with the virus, allowed to go outside for only two hours per day, goes against French freedoms. Such deprivation of liberty is not “necessary, adapted or proportional,” the ruling said. The current, less strict 10-day self-isolation for people infected with the virus will apparently remain in effect.

The court also struck down suspension of short-term contracts for those without a health pass — while accepting a suspension without remuneration of salaried employees with long-term contracts.

The legislation was sped urgently through parliament last week as virus infections soared, due to the highly contagious delta variant which now accounts for most cases in France.

Polls show that most French support the health pass. But the measure has ardent opponents, with many claiming their freedoms will be compromised. It is issued to people either vaccinated against COVID-19, or who have proof of recent recovery from the infection, or a recent negative test.

Starting Monday, it will be required for long-distance travel by train, plane or bus, entering restaurants, cafes and their terraces and rest homes — among a long list laid out in the law and approved in the ruling. The special court appeared to wince at the regulations but decided that overall a balance was struck between freedom and “the constitutional value of health protection.”

The Council also approved obliging health care workers to be vaccinated against the virus by Sept. 15. And it ruled that requiring the health pass for hospital visitors and others is justified — if it “doesn’t create an obstacle to accessing health care.”

Several hundred noisy protesters in front of the Constitutional Council in Paris denounced the ruling, under the eye of nearly as many heavily armed police.

Julien Bailly, 37, who makes harpsichords, wore a “Health dictatorship: Stop” sticker on his shirt.

He said he was fully vaccinated, but “everyone should be able to make that choice freely, not because oppressive laws force them to. Soon we’ll need QR codes for everything in life,” he added. “This is a slippery slope and an unprecedented attack on our freedoms.”

Critics complain that it limits their movements outside home — and implicitly renders vaccinations obligatory. Opponents have demonstrated around the country by the tens of thousands for the past three Saturdays, with more protests expected this weekend.

A 26-year-old protester who identified herself only as Charlotte said she distrusts the COVID-19 vaccine and resents it being forced on her. “The health pass won’t change my decision, I’ll never get the vaccine,” she said.

The Constitutional Council which examined the law is a special court which, among other things, reviews the constitutionality of legislation.

The health pass has been in effect since July 21 for cultural and recreational venues, including cinemas, concert halls and theme parks with capacity for more than 50 people. But the new law vastly extends its application.

Many restaurant owners say it is not their job to enforce the law, checking each client for a pass. Some health professionals have voiced fears that patients in need of non-urgent treatment could suffer.

“Quite a few people have told us they wouldn’t be coming back once the health pass is implemented,” said Vanessa Shi, co-owner of a noodle restaurant near the Champs-Elysees Avenue.

“We’ve been insulted on several occasions, with people calling us sell-outs and worse for saying we would implement the measure,” she said. “But with the bills we’ve racked up during the pandemic ... it’s a matter of survival for us.”

Prime Minister Jean Castex said the ruling allows for “full deployment of the strategy against COVID-19.” Disappointed that the article on strict isolation of those infected was struck down, he asked that recommended isolation be “scrupulously” respected.

More than 28,700 new infections were reported as of Wednesday evening, a steep climb from one month ago. The pandemic has claimed more than 112,000 lives in France.

Eiffel Tower reopens; COVID Passes Required As Of July 21st.

PARIS (AP) — With “Welcome” messages in multiple languages, the Eiffel Tower greeted tourists Friday for the first time in nearly nine months, reopening to the public even as France introduces new virus rules aimed at taming the fast-spreading delta variant.

Smiles were broad and emotions palpable as the first masked visitors mounted the elevators heading to the top of the Paris monument.

“It’s such a lovely place and wonderful people...and now the wonderful Tour Eiffel,” German tourist Ila Mires said, using the French name for the tower. She came with her 19-year-old daughter before the young woman leaves for studies in Amsterdam. Seeing the tower on their last day together in Paris “is such a gift to mother and daughter,” Mires said.

The “Iron Lady” of Paris was ordered shut in October as France battled its second virus surge of the pandemic, and remained shut for renovations even after other French tourist draws reopened last month.

The tower’s reopening came four days after President Emmanuel Macron announced new measures aimed at warding off a fourth surge, including mandatory vaccinations for health workers and mandatory COVID-19 passes to enter restaurants and tourist and other venues.

Starting Wednesday, all visitors to the Eiffel Tower over age 18 will need to show a pass proving they’ve been fully vaccinated, had a negative virus test or recently recovered from COVID-19.

Masks are required, and the number of daily visitors to the tower will be limited to about half the pre-pandemic norm of 25,000.

The rules didn’t seem to scare crowds away on Friday, July 16th.

“Bienvenue - Welcome - Wilkommen - Bienvenido” flashed on a screen as families, couples and groups lined up or posed for photos beneath the tower.

“We worked, we worked, we worked (for this day). And when I saw my first visitor, I was very, very happy. Emotion and happiness,” Eiffel Tower director Patrick Branco Ruivo told reporters.

“Before COVID, it was 80% foreigners, 20% French. Last year, it was 80% French, 20% foreigners. And this year, it’s amazing because it’s fifty-fifty. And for us, it’s the time that foreigners are coming back to the Eiffel Tower,” he said.

France has opened to international tourists this summer, but the rules vary depending on which country they are coming from. While visitors are trickling back to Paris, their numbers have been far from normal levels, given continued border restrictions and virus risks.

Looking over the elegant French capital, Philippe Duval of Bordeaux and his family admired the view.

“It’s an event we didn’t want to miss,” said Duval, who was among the first to make it to the tower’s top-floor viewing deck. “To be on top of the world’s most beautiful city, what else can you ask for.”

French Tourism Seeks New Boost With Disneyland Reopening

PARIS (AP) — France’s tourism sector is taking a further step toward normality with the reopening of Disneyland Paris, two weeks after the country reopened its borders to vaccinated visitors from across the world.

Europe’s most frequented theme park in Marne-la-Vallee, east of the French capital, opened its doors on Thursday after nearly eight months of closure.

A crowd of smiling visitors was welcomed by Disney characters dancing to the sound of joyful music.

“Amazing,” said Debbie Tater. The Delaware resident travelled from the United States to visit her family, including her daughter and two granddaughters, who live in France and whom she hadn’t seen for a year and a half.

“Happiest place on earth,” she said, with tears in her eyes.

“We couldn’t miss the reopening,” said Elodie Piedfort, from Haute-Loire region in central France. “Because I’m a nurse it’s been a very difficult year and being here, together with my son, is great. And the reopening, moving on is great as well.”

Visitors must wear masks inside the park and other measures are in place, including a cap on visitor numbers to ensure distancing.

Pauline Baudouin, a Disney fan from Angouleme in western France, said: “We were missing the magic, because it was already a complicated period and we needed to recharge our batteries in this magical world.”

Prime Minister Jean Castex said Wednesday that France is returning to “a form of normal life again,” as he announced that people won’t have to wear masks outdoors any more, except in crowded places.

The government confirmed children can remove masks in school playgrounds — yet they remain compulsory in class for those aged 6 and above.

The 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew will be lifted on Sunday.

On Thursday, Health Minister Olivier Veran said night clubs will be able to reopen in July under strict regulations — a first since the France’s initial lockdown in March last year, The French tourist industry hopes to rebound over the summer as the country welcomes foreign visitors again — on condition they have received one of the four EU-approved vaccines. Travelers are banned from 16 countries, including India, South Africa and Brazil, that are wrestling with virus surges and worrisome variants.

France started gradually reopening its economy last month. Monuments and museums, including major sites like the Louvre and Versailles, are open, as well as hotels, cafes and restaurants.

Tourists will still have to wait for the Eiffel Tower, set to reopen on July 16 after major renovation work.

The government said the easing of restrictions is due to a drop in daily infections and to a vaccination campaign that has seen more than 59% of France’s adult population receive at least one shot. The country opened this week vaccination to those aged 12 to 18.

Grand Day For The French: Cafe And Bistro Terraces Reopen

PARIS (AP) — It’s a grand day for the French. Cafe and restaurant terraces reopened Wednesday after a six-month coronavirus shutdown deprived residents of the essence of French “joie de vivre” — sipping coffee and red wine with friends.

The French government is lifting restrictions incrementally to stave off a resurgence of COVID-19 and to give citizens back some of their world famous lifestyle. As part of the plan’s first stage, France’s 7 p.m. nightly curfew was pushed back to 9 p.m. and museums, theaters and cinemas reopened along with outdoor cafe terraces.

President Emmanuel Macron took a seat at a café terrace, chatting with customers. Prime Minister Jean Castex, who planned to attend a cinema later Wednesday, projected a mood of measured optimism.

“Let’s get used to try and live together,” Macron told reporters. “If we manage to get well organized collectively and continue vaccinating, have a common discipline as citizens, there’s no reason why we can’t continue moving forward.”

Actor Emmanuelle Beart went to a movie theater opening in Paris where her latest film “L’Etreinte” (“The Embrace”) was showing. The appetite for seeing movies was such that many in Paris lined up at breakfast to see a movie instead of getting their morning croissant.

Moviegoer Michael Souhaite, who works in the industry, set his alarm clock to make sure he would make a 9 a.m. showing of “Drunk.”

“I really need to go to the movies,” he said. “I go to movies maybe twice a week, minimum. So for me, it was really, really, really important... Today, it’s almost emotional to be here.”

France is not the first European country to start getting back a semblance of social and cultural life. Italy, Belgium, Hungary and other nations already allow outdoor dining while drinking and eating indoors began Monday in Britain.

Eateries in France have been closed since the end of October, the longest time of any European country except Poland, where bars and restaurants reopened Saturday for outdoor service after being closed for seven months.

Still, the French government has put limits on how much fun can be had. Movie theaters can only seat 35% of capacity, while museums must restrict entries to allow space between visitors. Restaurants can fill only 50% of their outdoor seating and have no more than six people at a table.

Top figures in France’s restaurant industry were frustrated over the government’s perceived failure to protect their prized gastronomy from the worst. Yet many, like Michelin-starred chef Alain Ducasse, have chosen to hold their ire over the crippling six-month closures to imagine instead the future of buzzing dining areas and swilled bottles of wine.

“Has (the government) done enough? The answer is ‘No’... (But) optimism is a decision. We have decided to be optimistic. French gastronomy will continue,” he said.

Starting on June 9, the French government plans to move the curfew back to 11 p.m. and to permit indoor dining. Also on that date, France will begin to welcome tourists from non-EU destinations provided they have some sort of coronavirus passport or health pass. The final phase of the three-stage reopening plan is scheduled for June 30, when the curfew will end and all other restrictions will be lifted, if pandemic conditions allow.

Macron’s plans to bring France out of the pandemic aren’t just about bringing long-closed restaurants, boutiques and museums back to life, but also about preparing his possible campaign for a second term. Before next year’s presidential election, Macron is focusing on saving jobs and reviving the pandemic-battered French economy.

France has recorded more than 108,000 deaths due to COVID-19, among the highest tolls in Europe. But virus deaths, admissions to critical care units and the coronavirus infection rate are now on the decline.

Dr. Michel Slama, chief of the intensive care unit at Amiens Hospital, said his stance, like Macron’s, was “optimistic but prudent.”

“We are attentive about the reopening but worried is not the word,” he told The Associated Press. “There has been a significant drop in emergency hospital admissions for the virus in France. That’s good news. The high vaccine rate now, we hope, will help us avoid a new wave.”

About 40% of France’s adult population has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose — but that rate is still well behind Britain’s 70% and behind several other EU nations.

Tourists waited with excitement and palpable emotion as the cordon around the world’s most visited museum and home of the “Mona Lisa,” the Louvre, was finally lifted.

“I am extremely moved. In fact, just as I entered the Louvre, really just in the gallery, I immediately started crying. Real tears of joy,” said Pauline Lacroix, a psychotherapist.

“It means a lot, you know. It means COVID-19 is starting to finish, when it’s the opening of all museums and public areas,” said another visitor, Walid Hneini.

Paris resident Benoit Puez was more understated about the opening up, giving it a Gallic shrug.

“Maybe I didn’t really miss it, but we are happy it’s reopening. It’s a stage,” he said.
___
Thomas Adamson reported from Leeds, England. Masha Macpherson, John Leicester and Jeffrey Schaeffer in Paris contributed.

French President Foresees Some Summer Tourists In Paris

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron says he foresees at least some tourists returning to Paris this summer if they have gotten vaccinated or have proof of testing negative for the coronavirus as France moves to progressively lift infection-control restrictions.

“We are building a certificate to facilitate travel after these restrictions between the different European countries with testing and vaccination,” Macron said in an interview that aired Sunday on the CBS News show “Face the Nation.”

Macron spoke as the French government is preparing to impose tough, new entry restrictions on travelers from four countries — Argentina, Chile, South Africa and Brazil — in hopes of keeping out especially contagious virus variants. The number of countries on the list could grow, France’s foreign minister said Saturday.

The restrictions include mandatory 10-day quarantines with police checks to ensure people arriving in France observe the requirement. Travelers from all four countries will be restricted to French nationals and their families, EU citizens and others with a permanent home in France.

France previously suspended all flights from Brazil. The suspension will be lifted next Saturday, after 10 days, and the new restrictions “progressively” put in place by then, the government said. The flight suspension for Brazil will be lifted followed by the “drastic measures” for entering France from all four countries, plus the French territory of Guiana, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said.

Macron, summarizing the French approach, said “the plan is always to control the virus, to maximize the vaccination and to progressively lift the restrictions.”

France has been among the hardest hit European countries and is now guarding against highly contageous variants, notably deciding to target four countries at present.

The four countries “are the most dangerous in terms of the number of variants that exist and in the evolution of the pandemic in these countries,” Le Drian said Saturday on the France 3 television station.

The list of countries subject to tougher border checks could be extended, he said.

Under the new restrictions, travelers must provide an address for where they plan to observe the 10-day confinement period and police will make visits and fine those who are found in violation, the government said.

Along with the mandatory quarantine, France is requiring more stringent testing for the coronavirus. Travelers must show proof of a negative PCR test taken less than 36 hours instead of 72 hours before they boarded a flight, or a negative antigen test less than 24 hours

France has reported the deaths of 100,00 people in the COVID-19 pandemic.

A variant first identified in England spread to continental Europe and is now responsible for about 80% of the virus cases in France, while the variants first seen in Brazil and South Africa make up less than 4% of French infections, Health Minister Olivier Veran said last week.

Notre Dame’s Rector: “15 Or 20 years” Needed For Restoration

PARIS (AP) — The rector of Notre Dame said Friday that the burned-out Paris cathedral and its esplanade could remain a building site for another “15 or 20 years.”

Rector Patrick Chauvet spoke to The Associated Press following Good Friday ceremonies, including venerating the “Crown of Thorns” at Notre Dame’s temporary liturgical base, the nearby church of Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois.

He added that: “I can guarantee that there’s work to do!”

In the days following the April 15, 2019, blaze that engulfed Paris’ Gothic gem, French President Emmanuel Macron set a five-year restoration deadline for 2024, when Paris is to host the Summer Olympics. But French officials quickly backpedaled Macron’s statement, conceding that it was unrealistic to complete the enormous project by that time.

The blaze also distributed vast amounts of toxic lead from the cathedral’s burned-out roof onto the site and nearby, complicating the clean-up work that came before restoration efforts could even begin.

Works planned include remodeling the cathedral’s esplanade, which before the blaze was visited every year by 20 million tourists.

Paris May Face New Lockdown As ICUs Fill Up

PARIS — Officials say the Paris region may be headed toward a new lockdown as new variants of the virus fill up intensive care units and limited vaccine supplies drag down inoculation efforts.

Special medical planes dispatched patients from the Paris area to less-saturated regions over the weekend.

“If we have to lock down, we will do it,” the head of the national health agency, Jerome Salomon, said on BFM television Sunday. “The situation is complex, tense and is worsening in the Paris region.”

Salomon acknowledges that a nationwide 6 p.m. curfew “wasn’t enough” in some regions to prevent a spike in cases, notably of the variant first identified in Britain.

The French government has been relying on curfews for months -- along with the long-term closures of restaurants and some other businesses -- to try to avoid a costly new lockdown. But localized outbreaks are raising questions about the government’s virus-fighting strategy.

Salomon says France has more people in intensive care for COVID-19 and other ailments – about 6,300 -- than the overall number of ICU beds it had going into the pandemic.

France has reported 90,315 virus-related deaths, among the world’s highest death tolls.

Rodin Museum Sculpture Garden In Paris Reopens To Public

PARIS (AP) — There is a ray of light for Parisians who, like the rest of the French nation this weekend, begin to observe a tightened coronavirus curfew: The famous Rodin Museum sculpture gardens is reopening to visitors.

Though the rococo museum, showcasing the world’s largest collection of Rodin sculptures, remains closed, visitors are now able to enter the sculpture-filled surrounding gardens that overlooked the gold dome of Les Invalides monument. They had been shuttered since November and reopened Saturday.

Now, the pink viburnum is in bloom, and forsythia buds poke out between the bronze forms.

“It’s fantastic,” Matthew Cordell, an American resident of Paris, said Sunday. “It’s been a tough confinement ... We chose to live in Paris because we love the museums so it’s really nice to be able to get out and see some art.”

Others appreciated the setting, even if they were undecided by the artist himself.

“Coming back to culture is extremely important, even if I’m not exactly a Rodin fan,” visitor Philippe Boirel said Sunday.

Some of Rodin’s most famous sculptures like The Thinker, a towering contemplative bronze, can be seen there amid the greenery. Hidden in the thickets amid the strolling public, Orpheus tunes his lyre.

Tickets for the Musee Rodin at 77 rue de Varenne in Paris are six euros (about $7.25).