Paris shopkeepers to keep a vigilant eye on the elderly

Four hundred shopkeepers across Paris, including butchers, florists, tobacconists and pharmacists, have been recruited by the mayor’s office to act as look-outs for their elderly customers this summer. The initiative, run in conjunction with the city’s Chamber of Commerce and...

Lights go out on Paris motorways

Streetlights are to be extinguished on 130 km of motorway and main roads in the Paris region. The first road to go dark is the western section of the A86, between the A15 and A14, and 10 other stretches of...

Paris mayor announces war on street cafés

A war on Paris’ street cafes and bistros has broken out in the Montorgueil district of the capital, where bistro owners and the local mayor’s office are battling over pavement space. The local mayor’s office is trying to enforce a...

Paris Pompidou affiliate opens in Metz

An affiliate of the famous Pompidou Centre in Paris has opened in the north eastern city of Metz as part of efforts to shift the cultural balance in France away from the capital to provincial centres. The 10,700-sqm Centre...

Paris petrol stations may close

Many of Paris’ independent roadside petrol stations will have to close by the end of 2010 after failing to meet new environmental standards. From 31 December new regulations stipulate that all stations should have double-walled underground tanks, a system of...

Arc de Triomphe gets a brush-up

The Arc de Triomphe is to undergo a three-month restoration to each of its four reliefs. One and a half million visitors a year visit the monument on the Place d’Etoile and it is one of the 50 most visited...

The 26-gigapixel picture of Paris

The largest photograph in the world, a panoramic view of Paris, has been unveiled. The 26-gigapixel picture, the work of photographer Arnaud Frich, would be as wide as two football stadiums if it were printed to its actual size. To...

Université Paris Cité

Eight Parisian universities have regrouped under the new umbrella of Université Paris Cité. The new campus, the biggest in the city, will hold 120,000 of the city’s 300,000 students and includes some of its best-known institution, including the Sorbonne Nouvelle,...

Musée du Quai Branly reveals flood protection

One of Paris’ newest museum buildings, the Musée du Quai Branly, which opened in 2006 on the banks of the Seine, has revealed its secret weapon that until now has remained hidden from the public. Thanks to a specially designed...

Paris get tough on bouquinistes

Paris’ world-famous riverside booksellers – the bouquinistes – are being called to order by city authorities after many have been found selling tourist souvenirs, objects ‘made in China’ and unlawfully subletting their stalls. The town hall has been accused of...