Paris residents riled by post-Olympic tourism boom

A year has passed since the Paris Olympics and many local residents are complaining the city is now overrun with tourists.

For countries like France, tourism plays a vital role in supporting its economy. In 2023 France was visited by 100 million foreign tourists, making it the most visited country in the world, generating more than $83 billion.

But can you have too much of a good thing?

Montmartre resident and president of Vivre Montmartre Association, Anne Renaudie, says tourism has made life "unbearable".

According to the 49-year-old concert promoter: "Tourism has taken up such a large portion of public walkways, and everywhere else - in the shops, et cetera, that it has become unbearable. And for the local residents, when we arrived, we thought: 'it's a nice neighborhood and the tourists are part of everyday life.' Now, we say: 'There is tourism, and we are suffering from it.'"

Renaudie says the place she grew up in is now catering almost exclusively for tourists rather than local residents

"Now, we're down to two or three butcher shops, two cheese shops," she said. "They're disappearing one after the other… there was a period of big clothing brands, same as in the Marais district. And now, it's a lot of ice cream, crepe, taco places. All these businesses are food shops, yes, but reserved for tourists."

Her association has proposed measures to the town hall similar to those in other European tourist hotspots: limiting tour groups to 25 people, banning loudspeakers, and raising the tourist tax.

Thanks to the Olympic Games, 2024 was certainly a big year for Paris in terms of tourists, but the 48.7 million visitors are still not as high as the numbers in 2019 when over 50 million people visited the French capital.

Since then there was a big drop in 2019 due to the pandemic, but from 2020, the numbers have increased year-on-year.

The signs are that 2025 is shaping up to be an even busier year with tourist bookings in January up 20 percent on the same month last year.

Local residents have suggested making the situation more manageable by limiting tour groups to 25 people and raising the tourist tax.

But Eric Lejoindre, mayor of the 18th arrondissement, which includes Montmartre, believes that overtourism is creating an even bigger problem than just too many people on the streets.

"For me, the big issue is housing," he said. "How do we make sure that we can continue to find housing in Montmartre? That means fighting against AirBnb and rental platforms. It also means fighting against all predatory measures - people who buy up entire buildings, who force tenants to leave, so they can be replaced."

Real estate prices in Montmartre have gone up 19 percent in the last 10 years, forcing many locals to leave the area. A 40-square-meter apartment near Place du Tertre can now fetch around $572,000.

To address this, Paris has tightened short-term rental rules, reducing the annual limit on renting out a primary residence from 120 to 90 days.

While Paris has so far avoided the large-scale protests seen in Spain and Italy, some of its most iconic areas are starting to feel the strain. 

The fear is that in chasing the tourist dollar Montmartre could be losing the identity that made it so special in the first place.