Written by Thomas Adams
Paris (AP) It seemed like a village in the middle of Paris when Olivier Baroin moved into an apartment in Montmartre some fifteen years ago. No more.
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According to him, resident-only stores are going extinct, as is the welcoming environment. As overtourism takes its toll, they are replaced by crowds of people taking selfies, stores selling souvenirs for tourists, and cafes with seating that overflows into the tiny, cobblestone streets.
For Baroin, enough is enough. After local streets were made pedestrian-only to accommodate the increasing number of visitors, he listed his apartment for sale.
He told The Associated Press, “I told myself that I had no choice but to leave because, as I have a disability, it’s even more complicated when you can’t take your car anymore, when you have to call a taxi from morning to night.”
Cities around Europe, from Venice to Barcelona, are finding it difficult to handle the influx of tourists.
Residents of one of the most visited areas in Paris are now resisting. In Montmartre, a black banner hanging between two balconies says, in English: Behind the postcard: the Mayor mistreats the locals. Another reads: Residents of Montmartre are protesting, in French.
Residents complain about what they refer to as the “Disneyfication” of the formerly bohemian area of Paris, which is perched atop the hill where the Basilica of Sacr-C ur dominates the city skyline. While tuk-tuks, tour groups, photo lines, and short-term rentals have taken over daily life in the neighborhood, the basilica claims that it now draws up to 11 million visitors annually—even more than the Eiffel Tower.
Vivre a Montmartre, or Living in Montmartre, is a residents’ protest group. 56-year-old Baroin said, “Now, there are no more shops at all, there are no more food shops, so everything must be delivered.”
The disturbance is reminiscent of tensions at the Louvre Museum, where employees went on a brief wildcat strike in June amid ongoing overcrowding, understaffing, and worsening conditions. In 2024, 8.7 million people visited the Louvre, at than twice as many as its infrastructure could accommodate.
In 2024, 48.7 million tourists visited Paris, a city of little over 2 million people if you include its vast suburbs. This represents a 2% rise from the year before.
The Montmartre district and Sacr-C ur, France’s most visited landmark in 2024, have become what some residents refer to as an outdoor amusement park.
Ice cream shops, bubble tea vendors, and souvenir T-shirt booths are taking the place of local mainstays including butchers, bakeries, and grocers.
Requests for comment were not immediately answered by Paris officials.
It was a bright Tuesday this week, and most of the visitors appeared to be enjoying the congested streets.
According to American traveler Adam Davidson, Paris has generally been somewhat crowded but vibrant. As someone from Washington, D.C., which is also a vibrant city, I can state that this is unquestionably vibrant to a greater extent.
This year, thousands of people in Barcelona have taken to the streets, some brandishing water guns, to demand restrictions on cruise ships and short-term vacation rentals. Venice currently restricts the amount of visitors and charges an entrance fee for day visitors. To prevent the historic site from being overrun by tourists, authorities in Athens are limiting the number of visitors each day.
Historic communities run the risk of turning into what some critics refer to as “zombie cities,” which are gorgeous but dead, with their citizens displaced by transient tourists, urban planners warn.
Paris is taking action against illegal properties and short-term rentals in an effort to lessen the issues.
However, demands from tourism are increasing. The United Nations projects that by 2050, there will be close to 10 billion people on the planet. Many more tourists are anticipated in famous cities like Paris as a result of the growing middle class worldwide, the growth in low-cost flights, and the use of digital platforms to direct tourists to the same viral monuments.
Residents claim that the question today is if there is still room for those who live there.
