PARIS—Tourists were streaming into the world’s most visited museum on Sunday morning when a group of thieves burst in through a window of a gilded gallery on the second floor—and made off with a set of priceless royal jewels.
Over the course of only seven minutes, three or four individuals used a truck-mounted elevator to reach a balcony outside the Galerie d’Apollon, which houses France’s crown jewels, French officials said. There, the thieves used an angle grinder to cut a hole in a window to get inside, they added.
Thieves carried out a brazen seven-minute heist at the Louvre Museum in Paris on Sunday morning, breaking into the famed landmark using a basket lift to force open a window, smash display cases and steal jewelry that has “inestimable value,” France’s interior minister and the museum said.
The break-in happened in broad daylight while tourists were already inside the Louvre, the world’s most visited museum. It was forced to close in the aftermath of the incident as authorities began to investigate. Police sealed the museum gates and visitors were ushered out. No injuries were reported, according to spokespeople for the Louvre.
“A robbery took place this morning at the opening of the Louvre Museum,” French Culture Minister Rachida Dati wrote on X, while the museum cited “exceptional reasons” for the closure.
The heist occurred at around 9:30 a.m., when several people broke into the Louvre through the Galerie d’Apollon and stole jewelry before fleeing the scene on motorcycles, a museum spokesperson said in a statement to CBS News.
“An investigation has begun, and a detailed list of the stolen items is being compiled,” the statement said. “Beyond their market value, these items have inestimable heritage and historical value.”
France’s ministers of culture and interior were at the Louvre and working with the museum’s management as well as law enforcement, the statement continued, adding that “all possible measures are being taken to recover the stolen items.”
The interior ministry similarly said that forensic work was underway Sunday morning and a precise inventory of the stolen items was being compiled.
A basket lift used by thieves is seen at the Louvre museum Sunday Oct.19, 2025 in Paris.
Alexander Turnbull / AP
Video from the scene showed confused tourists being ushered out of the glass pyramid and surrounding courtyards as officers shut the iron gates and closed nearby streets along the Seine.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez called it a “major robbery,” saying the intruders entered from the outside using a basket lift. He said on France Inter radio that the heist took seven minutes and the thieves used a disc cutter to slice through the panes. He said it was “manifestly a team that had done scouting.”
The Galerie d’Apollon is a vaulted hall in the Denon wing that displays part of the French Crown Jewels beneath a ceiling painted by King Louis XIV’s court artist, according to the ministry.
French daily Le Parisien reported the thieves entered via the Seine-facing facade, where construction is underway, and used a freight elevator to reach the gallery. After breaking windows, they reportedly took nine pieces from the jewelry collection of Napoleon and the Empress. One stolen jewel was later found outside the museum, the paper reported, adding that the item was believed to be Empress Eugénie’s crown and that it had been broken.
Security around the marquee works remains tight. The Mona Lisa is protected by bulletproof glass and a custom high-tech display system as part of broader anti-theft measures across the museum.
Staffing and protection have been flashpoints at the Louvre. The museum delayed opening during a June staff walkout over overcrowding and chronic understaffing. Unions have warned that mass tourism strains security and visitor management.
This grab taken from video shows police standing outside the Louvre museum, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025, in Paris.
AP Photo
It wasn’t immediately clear whether staffing levels played any role in Sunday’s theft.
In January, President Emmanuel Macron announced a decade-long “Louvre New Renaissance” plan — roughly €700 million to modernize infrastructure, ease crowding and give the Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece its own dedicated gallery by 2031 — but workers say relief has been slow to reach the floor.
The theft, less than half an hour after doors opened, echoes other recent European museum raids.
In 2019, thieves smashed vitrines in Dresden’s Green Vault and carried off diamond-studded royal jewels worth hundreds of millions of euros. In 2017, burglars at Berlin’s Bode Museum stole a 100-kilogram (220-pound) solid-gold coin. In 2010, a lone intruder slipped into Paris’s Museum of Modern Art and escaped with five paintings, including a Picasso.
The Louvre has a long history of thefts and attempted robberies. The most famous came in 1911, when the Mona Lisa vanished from its frame, stolen by Vincenzo Peruggia, a former worker who hid inside the museum and walked out with the painting under his coat. It was recovered two years later in Florence — an episode that helped make Leonardo da Vinci’s portrait the world’s best-known artwork.
Home to more than 33,000 works spanning antiquities, sculpture and painting — from Mesopotamia, Egypt and the classical world to European masters — the Louvre’s star attractions include the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo and the Winged Victory of Samothrace. The museum can draw up to 30,000 visitors a day.
In a brazen, seven-minute strike, thieves used a basket lift to reach the Louvre on Sunday morning and, as tourists were already inside, forced a window, smashed display cases and fled with jewels of “inestimable value,” France’s interior minister said.The world’s most visited museum closed for the day as police sealed gates and ushered visitors out during the investigation.“A robbery took place this morning at the opening of the Louvre Museum,” Culture Minister Rachida Dati wrote on X. The museum cited “exceptional reasons” for the closure. No injuries were reported.Around 9:30 a.m. several intruders forced open a window, stole jewels from vitrines and escaped on two-wheelers, according to the Interior Ministry. It said forensic work is underway and a precise inventory of the stolen objects is being compiled, adding that the items have “inestimable” historical value. Dati and Nuñez were on site with museum leadership.Video from the scene showed confused tourists being ushered out of the glass pyramid and surrounding courtyards as officers shut the iron gates and closed nearby streets along the Seine.Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez called it a “major robbery,” saying the intruders entered from the outside using a basket lift. He said on France Inter radio that the heist took seven minutes and the thieves used a disc cutter to slice through the panes. He said it was “manifestly a team that had done scouting.”The heist occurred in the Galerie d’Apollon, a vaulted hall in the Denon wing that displays part of the French Crown Jewels beneath a ceiling painted by King Louis XIV’s court artist, according to the ministry.French daily Le Parisien reported the thieves entered via the Seine-facing facade, where construction is underway, and used a freight elevator to reach the gallery. After breaking windows, they reportedly took nine pieces from the jewelry collection of Napoleon and the Empress. One stolen jewel was later found outside the museum, the paper reported, adding that the item was believed to be Empress Eugénie’s crown and that it had been broken.Security and staffing at the Louvre in the spotlightSecurity around marquee works remains tight. The Mona Lisa is protected by bulletproof glass and a custom high-tech display system as part of broader anti-theft measures across the museum.Staffing and protection have been flashpoints at the Louvre. The museum delayed opening during a June staff walkout over overcrowding and chronic understaffing. Unions have warned that mass tourism strains security and visitor management.It wasn’t immediately clear whether staffing levels played any role in Sunday’s theft.In January, President Emmanuel Macron announced a decadelong “Louvre New Renaissance” plan — roughly €700 million to modernize infrastructure, ease crowding and give the Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece its own dedicated gallery by 2031 — but workers say relief has been slow to reach the floor.Other European museums have been robbedThe theft, less than half an hour after doors opened, echoes other recent European museum raids.In 2019, thieves smashed vitrines in Dresden’s Green Vault and carried off diamond-studded royal jewels worth hundreds of millions of euros. In 2017, burglars at Berlin’s Bode Museum stole a 100-kilogram (220-pound) solid-gold coin. In 2010, a lone intruder slipped into Paris’s Museum of Modern Art and escaped with five paintings, including a Picasso.The Louvre has a long history of thefts and attempted robberies. The most famous came in 1911, when the Mona Lisa vanished from its frame, stolen by Vincenzo Peruggia, a former worker who hid inside the museum and walked out with the painting under his coat. It was recovered two years later in Florence — an episode that helped make Leonardo da Vinci’s portrait the world’s best-known artwork.Home to more than 33,000 works spanning antiquities, sculpture and painting — from Mesopotamia, Egypt and the classical world to European masters — the Louvre’s star attractions include the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo and the Winged Victory of Samothrace. The museum can draw up to 30,000 visitors a day.
PARIS —
In a brazen, seven-minute strike, thieves used a basket lift to reach the Louvre on Sunday morning and, as tourists were already inside, forced a window, smashed display cases and fled with jewels of “inestimable value,” France’s interior minister said.
The world’s most visited museum closed for the day as police sealed gates and ushered visitors out during the investigation.
“A robbery took place this morning at the opening of the Louvre Museum,” Culture Minister Rachida Dati wrote on X. The museum cited “exceptional reasons” for the closure. No injuries were reported.
Around 9:30 a.m. several intruders forced open a window, stole jewels from vitrines and escaped on two-wheelers, according to the Interior Ministry. It said forensic work is underway and a precise inventory of the stolen objects is being compiled, adding that the items have “inestimable” historical value. Dati and Nuñez were on site with museum leadership.
Video from the scene showed confused tourists being ushered out of the glass pyramid and surrounding courtyards as officers shut the iron gates and closed nearby streets along the Seine.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez called it a “major robbery,” saying the intruders entered from the outside using a basket lift. He said on France Inter radio that the heist took seven minutes and the thieves used a disc cutter to slice through the panes. He said it was “manifestly a team that had done scouting.”
The heist occurred in the Galerie d’Apollon, a vaulted hall in the Denon wing that displays part of the French Crown Jewels beneath a ceiling painted by King Louis XIV’s court artist, according to the ministry.
French daily Le Parisien reported the thieves entered via the Seine-facing facade, where construction is underway, and used a freight elevator to reach the gallery. After breaking windows, they reportedly took nine pieces from the jewelry collection of Napoleon and the Empress. One stolen jewel was later found outside the museum, the paper reported, adding that the item was believed to be Empress Eugénie’s crown and that it had been broken.
Security and staffing at the Louvre in the spotlight
Security around marquee works remains tight. The Mona Lisa is protected by bulletproof glass and a custom high-tech display system as part of broader anti-theft measures across the museum.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether staffing levels played any role in Sunday’s theft.
In January, President Emmanuel Macron announced a decadelong “Louvre New Renaissance” plan — roughly €700 million to modernize infrastructure, ease crowding and give the Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece its own dedicated gallery by 2031 — but workers say relief has been slow to reach the floor.
Other European museums have been robbed
The theft, less than half an hour after doors opened, echoes other recent European museum raids.
In 2019, thieves smashed vitrines in Dresden’s Green Vault and carried off diamond-studded royal jewels worth hundreds of millions of euros. In 2017, burglars at Berlin’s Bode Museum stole a 100-kilogram (220-pound) solid-gold coin. In 2010, a lone intruder slipped into Paris’s Museum of Modern Art and escaped with five paintings, including a Picasso.
The Louvre has a long history of thefts and attempted robberies. The most famous came in 1911, when the Mona Lisa vanished from its frame, stolen by Vincenzo Peruggia, a former worker who hid inside the museum and walked out with the painting under his coat. It was recovered two years later in Florence — an episode that helped make Leonardo da Vinci’s portrait the world’s best-known artwork.
Home to more than 33,000 works spanning antiquities, sculpture and painting — from Mesopotamia, Egypt and the classical world to European masters — the Louvre’s star attractions include the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo and the Winged Victory of Samothrace. The museum can draw up to 30,000 visitors a day.
Thieves broke into the Louvre museum in Paris and stole priceless jewelry before escaping on motorbikes, French officials said Sunday.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez called the heist a “major robbery” that “lasted seven minutes.” Speaking to France Inter, he said the thieves “entered from the outside using a basket lift” and “a disc cutter” to slice through glass panes containing precious jewels.
“The investigation has begun, and a detailed list of the stolen items is being compiled,” the ministry said in a statement. “Beyond their market value, these items have inestimable heritage and historical value.”
The museum posted on X it would remain closed for the day for “exceptional reasons,” though it did not immediately provide details. No injuries were reported.
Forensic police officers arrive at the Louvre museum after reports of a robbery, in Paris, France, Oct. 19, 2025.(Reuters/Gonzalo Fuentes)
The crew stole “nine pieces from the jewelry collection of Napoleon and the Empress,” including a crown believed to have belonged to Empress Eugénie, the newspaper reported. The crown was later found broken outside the museum, the report said.
FILE – People walk outside the Louvre museum, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, in Paris.(AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
The Louvre houses over 33,000 works spanning antiquities, sculpture, and painting – from Mesopotamian artifacts and Egyptian relics to masterpieces by European artists. Its iconic treasures include the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and the Winged Victory of Samothrace.
PARIS (Reuters) -Thieves have broken into Paris’ Louvre museum through a window and have stolen pieces of jewellery with “inestimable heritage” before escaping on motorbikes, the French interior ministry said on Sunday.
“The investigation has begun, and a detailed list of the stolen items is being compiled. Beyond their market value, these items have inestimable heritage and historical value,” the ministry said in a statement.
No injuries were reported, either among the public or among Louvre staff or law enforcement officers, it said.
The museum said on X it would remain closed for the day for “exceptional reasons”.
(Reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide and John CottonEditing by Tomasz Janowski and Alison Williams)
Nicolas Puech says his wealth manager isolated him from friends and family and siphoned away a massive fortune. Then came the clue that began to reveal the deception.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A U.S. jury on Friday returned a historic verdict against BNP Paribas, finding the French bank helped Sudan’s government commit genocide by providing banking services that violated American sanctions.
The federal jury in Manhattan ordered BNP Paribas to pay a combined $20.5 million to three Sudanese plaintiffs who testified about human rights abuses perpetrated under former President Omar al-Bashir’s rule.
Lawyers for the three plaintiffs, who now reside in the U.S., said the verdict opens the door for over 20,000 refugees in the U.S. to seek billions of dollars in damages from the French bank.
“Our clients lost everything to a campaign of destruction fueled by U.S. dollars, that BNP Paribas facilitated and that should have been stopped,” said Bobby DiCello, a lawyer for the plaintiffs.
A BNP Paribas spokesman said the verdict should be overturned on appeal, adding that the bank believes it is specific to the three individual plaintiffs and should not have broader application.
“BNP Paribas believes that this result is clearly wrong and there are very strong grounds to appeal the verdict, which is based on a distortion of controlling Swiss law and ignores important evidence the bank was not permitted to introduce,” the spokesman said.
The verdict followed a five-week jury trial conducted by U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who last year denied a request by BNP Paribas to get the case thrown out ahead of trial.
The trial focused on whether BNP Paribas’s financial services were a “natural and adequate cause” of the harm suffered by survivors of ethnic cleansing and mass violence.
Hellerstein wrote in his decision last year that there were facts showing a relationship between BNP Paribas’ banking services and abuses perpetrated by the Sudanese government.
The ruling came in a proposed class action lawsuit brought by U.S. residents who had fled non-Arab indigenous black African communities in South Sudan, Darfur, and the Nuba Mountains in central Sudan.
The U.S. government recognized the Sudanese conflict as a genocide in 2004.
BNP Paribas had in 2014 agreed to plead guilty and pay an $8.97 billion penalty to settle U.S. charges it transferred billions of dollars for Sudanese, Iranian and Cuban entities subject to economic sanctions.
Grégoire Auzoux, the CEO of Crésus Casino, along with another individual, has been charged with operating an illegal gambling operation and is currently in custody. The professional poker player was apprehended and later released by French anti-organized crime police in mid-September after his offshore site was accused of catering to the French market.
Grégoire Auzoux Charged With Running an Illegal Gambling and Money Laundering Scheme
Investigations uncovered fund transfers exceeding EUR 100 million ($117 million) between 2022 and 2025, with authorities suspecting money laundering through the business. On October 9, Auzoux and another individual were presented before a judge in Paris and faced charges including illegal gambling, involvement in an organized crime group, unlawfully providing online gaming, and money laundering.
We reported earlier that the companies behind the website are said to have generated nearly EUR 1 billion (around $1.17 billion) in revenue over the past five years. Some of the companies involved in Auzoux’s online casino operations include Casino-Prive, Lucky 8, Jackpot Bob, and Olympe Casino.
It should be noted thatAuzoux and his alleged accomplice were not the site’s owners, as previous reports had indicated, but rather the operational masterminds behind the operation. Hired in 2021, the CEO earned a substantial EUR 70,000 (around $82,000) per month. During a raid on his residence by Cypriot police, authorities discovered not only large sums of cash but also EUR 90,000 (approximately $105,000) in cryptocurrency, which authorities say was used in money laundering schemes.
Jake Pollard, citing anonymous sources, reported on the Gaming&Co Substack today that Auzoux’s downfall stemmed from “hubris” and “arrogance.” According to the sources, Auzoux proceeded to launch a second site after the Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ), the regulatory body responsible for protecting citizens from unlicensed operators, ordered the blocking of the Cresuscasino.com domain.
How Was the Investigation Conducted?
The investigation, which forms part of broader Europol efforts targeting cross-border cybercrime, dates back to July 2024. It began when dissatisfied players alerted ANJ about Cresus Casino. What followed resembled a digital cat-and-mouse chase.
Although Cresus was officially registered in Cyprus and Curacao, it quickly escalated by creating multiple mirror sites. When authorities blocked cresuscasino.com, the operators swiftly launched a clone site and sent SMS messages with links to French users. Web traffic analysis provided the key evidence: nearly 100% of the site’s visitors came from French IP addresses, with the site receiving over a million visits each month.
According to a Eurojust press release, the organization emphasized that, due to the cross-border nature of the online gambling site’s activities, cooperation between authorities was vital in dismantling the gambling network. As a result, searches were conducted in Cyprus and Malta, hearings were held, and asset freezes were implemented, all facilitated by Eurojust’s support.
PARIS (Reuters) -In a 2018 interview with Fox News ahead of his first state visit to the United States, a fresh-faced President Emmanuel Macron was asked whether he might back down on reforms amid fierce domestic opposition.
“No. Chance,” Macron replied, separating each word for emphasis.
Fast forward to 2025: a politically cornered Macron, under siege from a resurgent parliamentary opposition, has been forced to shelve the only major economic reform of his second term – a totemic pension overhaul pushed through at great political cost.
For months, as France faced its worst political crisis in decades, Macron rejected leftist demands to shelve the reform.
His painful concession, delaying the reform until after the 2027 presidential election, was made as a last-ditch attempt to prevent the collapse of Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu’s weak minority government. It underlines the gravity of the problems facing a deeply unpopular president polling at just 14%.
It also marks the collapse of Macron’s reformist push to modernise France – and perhaps even the end of Macronism itself, nearly two years before he is due to step down.
“Backing down on the one and only major societal reform since his re-election – if it’s not a final blow, it’s at least a clear sign the president has stopped making his mark,” said analyst Stewart Chau at research agency Verian.
MOOD IS GRIM IN MACRON’S CAMP
Supporters say the suspension, which leaves in place a partial increase of the minimum retirement age by nine months that took effect on October 1, was a necessary compromise to restore stability after months of political turmoil.
In the shorter term, Macron’s concession has bought him time. Lecornu survived two no-confidence votes on Thursday, and the possibility of an early election now appears more remote.
But the long-term damage is clear. National auditors say the freeze will blow a 13 billion euro ($15.16 billion) annual hole in the public finances by 2035 if it’s not undone after 2027.
Given the widespread hostility towards the reform, it is unclear whether any potential Macron successor will campaign on restoring the measure, leaving its long-term future in doubt.
The mood among Macron’s allies was grim after the climb-down.
“It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but we had to swallow it,” said Pieyre-Alexandre Anglade, a lawmaker in Macron’s party.
Some Macronists say they’ll vote against the suspension – knowing it will pass – to avoid looking like they have betrayed their principles.
“I’m deeply concerned that, in our rush to exit the crisis, we’re sacrificing the only structural reform that truly matters for the future,” lawmaker Olivia Gregoire, a former Macron minister, told Reuters.
Macron built his political brand on being the bold reformer France had long lacked – a leader unafraid to defy street protests and vested interests to modernise a sluggish economy.
He portrayed himself as the president who would do what others wouldn’t: push through painful but necessary changes that previous governments had dodged, mocking past presidents as “do-nothings” in a 2017 speech.
His first term delivered on that promise with a blitz of reforms: scrapping the wealth tax, loosening rigid labour laws, and slashing housing benefits. Macron bulldozed ahead, brushing off mass protests and leaving a fractured opposition scrambling in his wake, thanks to a strong majority in parliament.
Things started to unravel when he lost his majority after his 2022 re-election.
The pension reform he campaigned on, which increased the minimum retirement age to 64 from 62, had to be rammed through parliament without a vote, sparking violent protests.
His failed gamble to call early elections last year sealed the fate of his domestic agenda, setting the stage for the current debacle.
With a hung parliament split into three ideologically opposed blocs, Macron became dependent on either the far-right or the left to govern.
The Socialists, who gained leverage after the far-right said it would vote against the government no matter what, demanded a high-profile concession to reclaim leadership on the left from the more radical France Unbowed – and they got it.
The pension retreat is unlikely to satisfy them for long.
The suspension doesn’t guarantee support for the rest of Lecornu’s draft budget – especially the belt-tightening measures aimed at bringing France’s budget deficit below 5%.
“We have made no commitments on the budget,” Socialist leader Boris Vallaud said on Wednesday.
That means other planks of Macron’s legacy might come under pressure, especially his tax cuts for the wealthy.
When asked what will remain of Macron’s legacy, his entourage now point only to his international impact.
“Pension reforms are never what is put to a president’s credit. What we remember presidents for is how they handled crises,” one close ally said. “Rearming Europe, Palestinian recognition. Maybe tomorrow there’ll be other conquests.”
(Reporting by Michel RoseEditing by Gabriel Stargardter and Gareth Jones)
PARIS (Reuters) -France’s highest administrative court rejected a challenge to electoral rules by far-right leader Marine Le Pen on Wednesday, dealing a blow to her efforts to overturn a sentence that could derail her candidacy in the 2027 presidential election.
Le Pen was barred in March from seeking public office for five years after a French court convicted her and other members of her party for misappropriation of funds. Le Pen has said the case and the decision were politically motivated.
The Paris Criminal Court sentenced Le Pen to four years in prison, including two to be served, a 100,000-euro ($116,230.00) fine and a five-year ban on holding public office, which is immediately enforceable despite pending appeals.
Le Pen had argued that the immediate application of the law that bars people convicted of certain crimes — including those related to corruption, fraud, or misuse of public funds — unfairly infringed upon her political rights.
“Today, the Council of State rejected this appeal because it did not seek to repeal regulatory provisions but rather to amend the law, which exceeds the powers of the Prime Minister,” the court said in a statement.
The contested articles either did not exist, or were unrelated to the execution of ineligibility penalties, the court said.
The ruling has cast doubt on her ability to run in the 2027 presidential election, where she remains a leading contender.
(Reporting by Alban Kacher; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
ANTANANARIVO (Reuters) -Colonel Michael Randrianirina has taken control of Madagascar after its sitting president fled following weeks of youth-led Gen Z protests against his rule.
Following are key facts about Randrianirina:
* Randrianirina is part of Madagascar’s elite military CAPSAT unit, the group that brought now-deposed president Andry Rajoelina to power in a 2009 coup.
* Since taking control this week, he has suspended the southern African country’s institutions, including the Senate, electoral commission and top legal bodies, including the High Constitutional Court that validated his takeover as interim president. He said it might take up to two years to hold elections to transition back to a civilian government.
* Randrianirina became a vocal critic of Rajoelina in recent years and was arrested on suspicion of instigating an army mutiny on 27 November 2023, for which he was charged, brought before court and sent to prison all on the same day.
He was released in February 2024, after being given a suspended sentence for attacking state security, and returned to CAPSAT.
* On October 11, as the Gen Z protests against Rajoelina gathered steam, Randrianirina recorded a video in which he called on Madagascar’s security forces to disobey orders to open fire on protesters. Some CAPSAT soldiers then joined the protests after that declaration of support.
* He was born in the village of Sevohipoty, in the region of Androy, on the southernmost tip of the Indian Ocean island. He is 51 years old, although the exact date of his birth is not public knowledge, nor is his family background.
* He was governor of Androy between 2016 and 2018, later becoming head of an infantry battalion in the city of Toliara until 2022. Then he was promoted to a senior role in CAPSAT.
(Reporting by Tim CocksAdditional reporting by Lovasoa Rabary, Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
PARIS (AP) — When Olivier Baroin moved into an apartment in Montmartre about 15 years ago, it felt like he was living in a village in the heart of Paris. Not anymore.
Stores for residents are disappearing, along with the friendly atmosphere, he says. In their place are hordes of people taking selfies, shops selling tourist trinkets, and cafés whose seating spills into the narrow, cobbled streets as overtourism takes its toll.
Baroin has had enough. He put his apartment up for sale after local streets were designated pedestrian-only while accommodating the growing number of visitors.
“I told myself that I had no other choice but to leave since, as I have a disability, it’s even more complicated when you can no longer take your car, when you have to call a taxi from morning to night,” he told The Associated Press.
AP AUDIO: Paris residents fight overtourism and ‘Disneyfication’ of beloved Montmartre neighborhood
AP correspondent Mimmi Montgomery reports on mass tourism affecting the Montmartre district in Paris.
Overtourism in European cities
From Venice to Barcelona to Amsterdam, European cities are struggling to absorb surging numbers of tourists.
Some residents in one of Paris’ most popular tourist neighborhoods are now pushing back. A black banner strung between two balconies in Montmartre reads, in English: “Behind the postcard: locals mistreated by the Mayor.” Another, in French, says: “Montmartre residents resisting.”
Atop the hill where the Basilica of Sacré-Cœur crowns the city’s skyline, residents lament what they call the “Disneyfication” of the once-bohemian slice of Paris. The basilica says it now attracts up to 11 million people a year — even more than the Eiffel Tower — while daily life in the neighborhood has been overtaken by tuk-tuks, tour groups, photo queues and short-term rentals.
A banner reading “Montmartre under threat. Are residents being forgotten?” hangs at windows in the Montmartre district in Paris, France, Monday, Aug. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
A banner reading “Montmartre under threat. Are residents being forgotten?” hangs at windows in the Montmartre district in Paris, France, Monday, Aug. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
“Now, there are no more shops at all, there are no more food shops, so everything must be delivered,” said 56-year-old Baroin, a member of a residents’ protest group called Vivre a Montmartre, or Living in Montmartre.
The unrest echoes tensions across town at the Louvre Museum, where staff in June staged a brief wildcat strike over chronic overcrowding, understaffing and deteriorating conditions. The Louvre logged 8.7 million visitors in 2024, more than double what its infrastructure was designed to handle.
A postcard under pressure
Paris, a city of just over 2 million residents if you count its sprawling suburbs, welcomed 48.7 million tourists in 2024, a 2% increase from the previous year.
Sacré-Cœur, the most visited monument in France in 2024, and the surrounding Montmartre neighborhood have turned into what some locals call an open-air theme park.
Local staples like butchers, bakeries and grocers are vanishing, replaced by ice-cream stalls, bubble-tea vendors and souvenir T-shirt stands.
Paris authorities did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Visitors seemed largely to be enjoying the packed streets on a sunny Tuesday this week.
“For the most part, all of Paris has been pretty busy, but full of life, for sure,” said American tourist Adam Davidson. “Coming from Washington, D.C., which is a lively city as well, I would say this is definitely full of life to a different degree for sure.”
Europe’s breaking point
Tourists stroll in the Montmartre district in Paris, France, Monday, Aug. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Tourists stroll in the Montmartre district in Paris, France, Monday, Aug. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
In Barcelona, thousands have taken to the streets this year, some wielding water pistols, demanding limits on cruise ships and short-term tourist rentals. Venice now charges an entry fee for day-trippers and caps visitor numbers. And in Athens, authorities are imposing a daily limit on visitors to the Acropolis, to protect the ancient monument from record-breaking tourist crowds.
Urban planners warn that historic neighborhoods risk becoming what some critics call “zombie cities” — picturesque but lifeless, their residents displaced by short-term visitors.
Paris is trying to mitigate the problems by cracking down on short-term rentals and unlicensed properties.
But tourism pressures are growing. By 2050, the world’s population is projected to reach nearly 10 billion, according to United Nations estimates. With the global middle class expanding, low-cost flights booming and digital platforms guiding travelers to the same viral landmarks, many more visitors are expected in iconic cities like Paris.
The question now, residents say, is whether any space is left for those who call it home.
PARIS (Reuters) -The French government’s 2026 budget plans are based on rosy economic assumptions and its belt-tightening measures may fall short or never even take shape, the independent fiscal watchdog said on Tuesday.
Reappointed on Friday, Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu is racing to present a 2026 budget bill to parliament before constitutional limits on reviewing the legislation run out.
The budget, already submitted to the Haut Conseil des Finances Publiques for review, aims to reduce the deficit to between 4.7% and 5% of GDP — a modest improvement from this year’s 5.4%, the fiscal watchdog said.
The government’s plan hinges on a more than 30 billion euro ($34.7 billion) budget squeeze, including cuts to corporate tax breaks, tighter rules on social welfare contributions, and new levies such as a small parcel tax and an exceptional surtax on complementary health insurers, the Haut Conseil said.
It also clamps down on the taxation of holding companies used by wealthy people to lower their tax bills, stopping short of a 2% tax on wealth over 100 million euros as demanded buy the Socialists.
(Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Editing byh Benoit Van Overstraeten)
MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia on Monday denied a report that one of its submarines was suffering technical problems after the vessel surfaced off the coast of northern France.
NATO’s Maritime Command published photographs on October 9 of what it said was a French navy frigate observing a Russian submarine operating on the surface off the coast of Brittany.
“NATO stands ready to defend our Alliance with constant vigilance and maritime awareness across the Atlantic,” it posted on X, without naming the submarine.
VChK-OGPU, a shadowy Telegram channel that publishes purported Russian security leaks, reported last month that the diesel-powered submarine Novorossiysk was suffering serious technical problems, with fuel leaking into the hold.
On Monday, state media published a statement from Russia’s Black Sea Fleet denying that the Novorossiysk had surfaced off France because of a technical emergency.
It said that the submarine was carrying out a scheduled transit after completing tasks in the Mediterranean Sea, and had surfaced in line with international navigation rules in the English Channel.
State news agency TASS said the vessel, which entered service in 2014, was part of a group of submarines that carry Kalibr cruise missiles.
PARIS (Reuters) -The French presidency unveiled a new cabinet line-up on Sunday in a last-gasp bid to secure a budget for 2026 and find a way out of a deep political crisis that has hampered decision making in the euro zone’s second biggest economy.
Here are reactions to the appointments:
SEBASTIEN LECORNU, PRIME MINISTER, ON X:
“A mission-based government has been appointed to give France a budget before the end of the year. I would like to thank the women and men who are freely committing themselves to this government, putting aside personal and partisan interests. Only one thing matters: the interests of the country.”
MARINE LE PEN, LEADER OF FAR-RIGHT NATIONAL RALLY
“As we have been saying for several days, the government will be voted out (in parliament) by the National Rally and our allies. Tomorrow, we will table a motion of no confidence against it. The President of the Republic must announce the dissolution of the National Assembly as soon as possible to allow the French people to express themselves and choose a new majority for change, which will undoubtedly be led by Jordan Bardella.”
ANNIE GENEVARD, REAPPOINTED MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, ON X:
“The Prime Minister asked me to continue my work within the Government. I chose to accept at a time when French agriculture is facing profound difficulties and France is going through a serious political crisis.”
CONSERVATIVE PARTY THE REPUBLICANS IN A PRESS RELEASE:
“On October 10, the Political Bureau of The Republicans voted against LR participation in the government. As a result, LR members who have agreed to join the government can no longer claim to be members of LR. They will immediately cease their functions in our governing bodies, which we will convene in the coming days to make a final decision.”
OLIVIER FAURE, HEAD OF THE SOCIALIST PARTY, ON X
MARINE TONDELIER, LEADER OF THE GREEN PARTY, ON X
“New government #Lecornu2. I won’t comment this evening. Everyone knows what I think.”
PARIS (Reuters) -The French presidency announced Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu’s new cabinet line-up on Sunday, reappointing Roland Lescure, a close ally of Emmanuel Macron, as finance minister.
Lecornu’s last government lasted just 14 hours. Lescure takes over the finance ministry at a time the government is under intense pressure to steer a budget for 2026 through a deeply divided parliament.
(Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain; editing by Richard Lough)
CAIRO (Reuters) -Egypt will host an international summit in the Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday to finalise an agreement aimed at ending the war in Gaza, an Egyptian presidential spokesperson said on Saturday.
The summit will be attended by more than 20 leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump, the spokesperson added in a statement.
(Reporting by Mohamed Hendawy; Writing by Hatem Maher; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
PARIS (Reuters) -When Sebastien Lecornu gave his first prime-time TV interview hours after resigning as French prime minister on Wednesday, he cast himself as a “soldier monk” — a man of duty who would not shy away if President Emmanuel Macron called him back to battle.
The metaphor, evoking the austere warrior monks of the Crusades, fits the discreet Lecornu well, allies and critics say. On Friday, Macron reappointed his loyal servant to a job no one else in the president’s camp seemed eager to take, tasking him with the same job that felled him just a few days ago – passing a slimmed-down 2026 budget through a hostile parliament.
“I don’t feel that there were many candidates, to be completely transparent,” Lecornu told journalists after a visit to a police station in L’Hay-les-Roses, a suburb south of Paris, on Saturday. “I don’t have an agenda. I have no other ambition than to get through this moment, which is objectively very difficult for everyone.”
REAPPOINTMENT CRITICISED BY OPPONENTS
Prior to his first premiership, Lecornu, 39, was largely unknown to most French people, despite holding several ministerial posts since 2017, including defence. His popularity surged after his post-resignation speech, with many praising his humble tone.
Lecornu’s new-found popularity may be his only weapon as criticism mounts over Macron’s decision to bring him back just four days after his resignation. Opponents called the move “absurd”, “a bad joke” and “a middle finger to the French”, with many pledging to vote Lecornu out as soon as possible.
“Even if there is criticism about his reappointment, there is little criticism of his personality,” said Bernard Sananes of pollster Elabe on BFM TV, explaining that Lecornu’s popularity has jumped 11 points to reach the top 10 of France’s most popular politicians. “Modesty, humility. That contrasts with Emmanuel Macron’s image.”
A low-profile loyalist, Lecornu had long stayed in the president’s shadow — unlike other cabinet colleagues who openly nurtured ambitions to succeed Macron.
He once considered joining the priesthood at 16, he said in an interview last year — a detail friends cite as proof of his tendency to self-sacrifice.
“My prudence, my old-school style in terms of communication protects me,” he said in that interview.
SIGNALLED WILLINGNESS TO COMPROMISE ON REFORMS
Behind the scenes, Lecornu has been a shrewd operator, constantly available for the hyperactive president and even lightening the mood with impersonations of former leaders Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy, people close to him say.
The former mayor of a small Normandy town, he earned respect among lawmakers and local officials by talking to all sides and showing little ideological rigidity, the people said.
Unlike many in Macron’s camp, he has signalled openness to concessions on some of the president’s sacred cows, such as taxing the rich or softening a contested pension reform.
“He has no religion on these issues,” a former staffer said.
That flexibility, at a time when winning at least Socialist abstentions will be key to passing a budget and ensuring his government’s survival, is why Macron turned to him again — seeing Lecornu as his last chance to avoid a snap election pushed by Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally.
(Reporting by Michel Rose; Additional reporting by Mathieu Rosemain; Editing by Alex Richardson)
