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☆ A City Scarred by Terrorism Prepares an Olympic Opening Without Walls
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-27 | by ( Catherine Porter | Ségolène Le Stradic | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A terrorist attack of 2015 that left her city angry and heartbroken persuaded Paris’s mayor, Anne Hidalgo, to campaign for the Olympic Games. “Something that is very powerful, very peaceful and allows us to move forward. So, I threw myself into it.”Nine years later, the Summer Olympics are set to open in Paris in July with France at its highest level of terrorism alert, after the attack on the Moscow concert hall last month. Yet for the first time, the opening ceremony will not be held inside the barricaded confines of a stadium. Instead, athletes will float in boats down the Seine River through the heart of the dense, ancient city before half a million spectators packed into stands and leaning out of windows.

Persons: Paris’s, Anne Hidalgo, “, ”, Charlie Hebdo Organizations: Olympic Locations: Paris, France, Moscow

☆ Paris waiters compete in race to get a coffee and croissant across the capital
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Xiaofei Xu | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

“I tried holding the tray, it’s pretty heavy!” Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo told journalists shortly before the race started. Waiters start the Course des Cafes race on March 24, 2024. The “Course des Garçons de Café” (cafe waiters race) was first launched in 1914 to highlight the cafés and restaurants of the French capital, according to French historian Laurent Bihl. Throughout the years, it found popularity not only in Paris but across France in cities such as Nice, Belfort and Calais. Back on the streets of Paris, the quickest entrants completed Sunday’s Course des Cafés race – the name of the revived version has been shortened, dropping the ‘garçons’ – in less than 14 minutes.

Persons: Paris, “, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, Dimitar Dilkoff, ’ It’s, ”, Ariel Weil, Pierre Rabadan, Nicolas Bonnet Oulaldj, Café, Laurent Bihl, Pauline Van Wymeersch, Samy Lamrous Organizations: Paris CNN, Paris Mayor, France, Getty, Paralympic Games, Petit Pont, La Contrescarpe Locations: Paris, AFP, France, Nice, Belfort, Calais, Hong Kong, Yokohama, La

☆ Russia Will Be Asked for Ceasefire During Olympics, Macron Tells Ukraine Interviewer
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-16 | by ( March | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV (Reuters) - Russia will be asked to observe a ceasefire in Ukraine during the Paris Olympics, French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview from Paris shown on Ukrainian television and posted by a Ukrainian journalist on her YouTube channel on Saturday. "The demand for a ceasefire during the Olympics. "It will be requested," Macron says in French before a voiceover interpretation gives his response in Ukrainian as "Yes, we will ask for it." "The rule of the host country is to move in step with the Olympic movement," the interpreter quoted Macron as saying. (Reporting by Oleksandr Kozhukhar in Kyiv and Elaine Monaghan in Washington; Writing by Elaine Monaghan; Editing by David Gregorio)

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, Macron, Russia's, Anne Hidalgo, Oleksandr Kozhukhar, Elaine Monaghan, David Gregorio Organizations: Paris Olympics, YouTube, Olympic, Russian Olympic Committee, Olympics, IOC, Paris, Reuters Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Paris, Ukrainian, Belarus, Kyiv, Washington

☆ 2024 Olympic Games: Paris mayor says she would prefer Russian athletes to be banned
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Chris Liakos | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said on Wednesday that she is against Russian athletes participating in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and attending the Opening Ceremony scheduled for July 26. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said earlier this month that Russian and Belarusian Paralympic athletes will not take part in their Opening Ceremony on August 28. Loic Venance/AFP/Getty ImagesAccording to Russian state news agency TASS, Russian sports minister Oleg Matytsin told reporters on Wednesday that Russia should not boycott the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. “Now, the question of competing at the Olympic Games is on everyone’s lips, my position is this: we should not turn away, close ourselves or boycott this movement,” Matytsin said. The Paralympic Games begin on August 28 and end on September 8.

Persons: CNN — Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, “, ” Hidalgo, Vladimir, Putin, –, ”, Hidalgo, Israel, Loic Venance, Oleg Matytsin, ” Matytsin, Matytsin Organizations: CNN — Paris Mayor, Russian, Games, Reuters, Ukraine, Olympic Committee, Paris, IOC, International Paralympic Committee, Belarusian Paralympic, Paralympic, International Olympic Committee, Tokyo, Olympic Locations: Paris, Russian, Europe, Belarusian, Gaza, ”, AFP, Russia, Belarus

☆ Paris has hiked parking charges on SUVs. Now cities like London are taking note
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( Vicky Mckeever | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

At a referendum in Paris last month, almost 55% voted in favor of a specific parking rate for sports utility vehicles (SUVs) for non-residents. The higher charges will apply to SUVs weighing more than 1.6 metric tons that are hybrid or have a combustion engine, as well as electric SUVs weighing over 2 metric tons. According to Jens Müller, deputy director and head of policy and research at the Clean Cities campaign group, "what happens in Paris usually doesn't stay in Paris." Its plans to introduce higher parking charges for heavier vehicles which is due to come into force next June. It's a nod to the fact that pollution isn't the only potential issue with SUVs, with space and safety also of concern.

Persons: it's, Jens Müller, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, Edmund King, Belit Onay Organizations: Anadolu, Getty, Clean Cities, CNBC, Paris Mayor, International Energy Agency, Times, Lyon, Grenoble, Transport, Environment, Vias Institute Locations: Paris, France, Europe, Bordeaux, Germany, Tübingen, Hanover, 200cm, Belgium

☆ Opinion: Stuck in traffic, I wonder if this European city’s car-free vision is working
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( David A. Andelman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The fact is that gas cars aren’t being weaponized on most of the continent the way they are in America. I’m all in favor of the commendable end to gas cars that Europe has now embraced – a decade or more hence. Of course, that’s only one corner of what’s happened to Paris traffic under the Hidalgo regime. The same toxic, planet-warming emissions are being generated, especially with all that idling in place in endless traffic jams. Perhaps a couple of decades from now when all those gas guzzling cars will be gone entirely?

Persons: David A, That’s, “, Giuseppe Sala, hasn’t, van, Laurent Nunez, ”, King Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, Anne Hidalgo, Hidalgo, Joe Biden, Eric Adams Organizations: CNN, French Legion of, The New York Times, CBS News, European Union, Sunday, ”, Concorde, Olympic, Seine, Maison de Radio, Notre Dame, US Locations: Europe, Asia, Paris, America, Milan, Italy’s, Swedish, Stockholm, Vienna, Pontevedra, Spain, –, dribs, Hidalgo, ”, Seine, Taxis, New York

☆ Paris SUV parking charges to triple as voters back mayor’s initiative
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Chris Liakos | Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Paris CNN —Parisians voted in favor of tripling the parking costs for SUVs on Sunday, following a proposal by the Paris mayor’s office, as the city aims to cut air pollution and tackle the climate crisis. Citizens were asked to decide whether there should be a specific parking rate for “heavy” and “polluting” vehicles. The results of the Paris vote are expected to be verified on Monday by the electoral commission. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo thanked those who cast their vote on Sunday, stressing that it was a question about ecology, road safety and public health. Some car associations have come out strongly against the SUV proposal, however, including the group 40 Millions d’Automobilistes (40 Million Motorists).

Persons: Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, Hidalgo Organizations: Paris CNN, Paris, Citizens, €, International Energy Agency, Paris Mayor Locations: Paris, US, India, Europe

Only 5.7% of the 1.3 million eligible voters cast ballots at the 39 voting stations around the city, the newspaper Le Monde said. Demur said heavier cars make congestion “even more complicated” and that ”one must consider the ecology, the parking issues." It’s about freedom.”The vote follows another City Hall consultation last year on whether to ban for-hire electric scooters. In a country of car-lovers, home to Renault, Citroen and Peugeot, Hidalgo has worked for years to make Paris less car-friendly. It’s become a central Paris haven for cyclists, runners, families and romantics since Hidalgo closed it to motor traffic in 2016.

Persons: Anne Hidalgo, Le, Hidalgo, “, Demur, Hall's, Leicester Organizations: PARIS, Socialist, Le Monde, Renault, Citroen, Peugeot, Paralympic Games Locations: Paris ’, Paris, It’s, Hidalgo, Le Pecq, France

☆ Paris metro ticket prices set to almost double during 2024 Olympics
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Sophie Kiderlin | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Tourists are set to pay almost twice the usual price of Paris Metro tickets during the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics that will take place in the French capital from July to September next year. "We will create a new [transport] pass, the Paris 2024 Pass, that will allow visitors to move across the entire Île-de-France. Videos that appeared to show bedbugs on the Paris metro, the city's Charles de Gaulle airport and trains in the country have spread on social media, sparking concerns in early autumn. Disclosure: CNBC parent NBCUniversal owns NBC Sports and NBC Olympics. NBC Olympics is the U.S. broadcast rights holder to all Summer and Winter Games through 2032.

Persons: Valerie Pecresse, Pecresse, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, Charles de Gaulle Organizations: Paris Metro, CNBC, Olympics, Paris Mayor, NBCUniversal, NBC Sports, NBC Olympics, NBC, Games Locations: France, Paris, U.S

☆ Elon Musk claims advertisers are trying to 'blackmail' him, says 'Go f--- yourself'
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Lora Kolodny | In Lorakolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Tesla and SpaceX's CEO Elon Musk reacts during an in-conversation event with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in London, Britain, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. Speaking at the 2023 DealBook Summit in New York on Wednesday, Elon Musk, the owner of social media site X (formerly Twitter), scoffed at advertisers leaving the platform because of antisemitic posts he amplified there. "The whole world will know that those advertisers killed the company and we will document it in great detail," Musk threatened. Musk told Sorkin on stage that his visit to Israel was planned before his tweets, and were not part of an "apology tour." Previously, Musk had said he wanted to bring SpaceX satellite communications service, Starlink, to the region and specifically to humanitarian organizations in Gaza.

Persons: Tesla, Elon Musk, Rishi Sunak, somebody's, Musk, Bob Iger, Bob, Andrew Ross Sorkin, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, Sorkin Organizations: British, Disney, Apple, Paris Mayor, SpaceX Locations: London, Britain, New York, Israel, Gaza

☆ The mayor of Paris is making a loud exit from X, calling the platform a 'gigantic global sewer'
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Kai Xiang Teo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo says she's leaving X after 14 years on the platform. AdvertisementParis Mayor Anne Hidalgo says she's leaving X after more than 14 years on the platform, formerly known as Twitter. "This platform and its owner intentionally exacerbates tensions and conflicts," she wrote in French, adding that the platform has "become a gigantic global sewer." "To remain true to my convictions and my commitment, I am leaving Twitter today," Hidalgo wrote on Monday. AdvertisementAn early proponent of Twitter, Hidalgo joined the platform in 2009 when she was the deputy mayor of Paris.

Persons: Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, she's, Elon Musk, —, Anne Hidalgo, Hidalgo, cacmq4 — Anne Hidalgo, Ross Gerber, Dustin Moskovitz Organizations: Paris Mayor, Elon, Service, Twitter, de, Instagram, Facebook, Apple, IBM, Disney, The New York Times, Business Insider Locations: Paris, de Paris, @Anne_Hidalgo

☆ X Has Become a ‘Global Sewer,’ Mayor of Paris Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( Liz Alderman | More About Liz Alderman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, announced Monday on X, formerly Twitter, that she was quitting the social media site because it had devolved into a “gigantic global sewer” for disinformation, hatred, anti-Semitism and racism, and a “tool for destroying our democracies.”Without naming Elon Musk directly, she added: “This platform and its owner intentionally exacerbate tensions and conflicts.”In recent weeks, dozens of advertisers paused their campaigns on X after Mr. Musk endorsed an antisemitic conspiracy theory this month, and the company could lose as much as $75 million in ad revenue by the end of the year. Mr. Musk has strenuously denied that he is antisemitic or that the site supports disinformation, and visited Israel on Monday in an apparent bid to repair the damage. He met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who took him to an Israeli kibbutz where dozens of people were killed during the Hamas terrorist attack on Oct. 7. Mr. Musk was scheduled to meet later with President Isaac Herzog to discuss “the need to act to combat rising antisemitism online.” Israel also appeared to reach an understanding to deploy Starlink, the satellite internet service Mr. Musk owns, in Gaza for aid agencies to use amid cellular and internet blackouts.

Persons: Anne Hidalgo, Elon Musk, Musk, Benjamin Netanyahu, Isaac Herzog, ” Israel Organizations: Elon Locations: Paris, Israel, Gaza

PARIS (AP) — The mayor of future Olympic host city Paris says she is quitting X, accusing Elon Musk 's platform previously known as Twitter of spreading disinformation and hatred and of becoming a “gigantic global sewer” that is toxic for democracy and constructive debate. Political Cartoons View All 1265 ImagesHer office said that Paris City Hall is keeping its own separate account on X.Hidalgo's withdrawal from X follows a fractious period for the mayor. Hidalgo said some transport options won't be ready for the July 26-Aug. 11 Olympics. Hidalgo's office said her decision to leave X was not in response to the recent criticism but was thought-out over time. “This medium has become a gigantic global sewer, and we should continue to wade into it?”___Follow AP's coverage of the Paris Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

Persons: Elon Musk, Anne Hidalgo, ”, X, Hidalgo, Clement Beaune, Musk, ” Hidalgo Organizations: PARIS, Olympic, Twitter, Associated, Socialist, Paris City Hall, Transport, Paris Locations: Paris, Pacific, New Caledonia, Tahiti, paris

☆ Paris mayor quits X platform, calling it a 'gigantic global sewer'
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Paris' Mayor Anne Hidalgo attends the 105th session of the Congress of Mayors organised by the "France's Mayors' Association" (AMF), in Paris, France, November 21, 2023. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsPARIS, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo on Monday announced she was quitting the X platform formerly known as Twitter, calling it a "gigantic global sewer" that was "destroying our democracies" by spreading abuse and misinformation. After buying Twitter in 2022, Elon Musk laid off thousands of employees, including many who moderated content on the platform. "This medium has become a gigantic global sewer, and we should continue to wade into it?" X users and opposition politicians took to the #TahitiGate hashtag to lambast her over the partially taxpayer-funded trip.

Persons: Mayor Anne Hidalgo, Sarah Meyssonnier, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, Elon Musk, Hidalgo, Michel Rose, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Mayor, Mayors, Association, REUTERS, Rights, Paris Mayor, Monday, Twitter, White, Socialist, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, Tahiti

☆ Transport won't be ready, Paris mayor says ahead of 2024 Games
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Paris' Mayor Anne Hidalgo attends the 105th session of the Congress of Mayors organised by the "France's Mayors' Association" (AMF), in Paris, France, November 21, 2023. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsPARIS, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Paris will not be ready for the Olympics and Paralympics in terms of transport and sheltering the homeless, city mayor Anne Hidalgo has said. "There will be places where (public) transport will not be ready because there will not be enough trains and not frequently enough," Hidalgo told news show Quotidien in thinly veiled criticism of Paris region president Valerie Pecresse. The Ile de France (Paris region) Regional Council, led by right-winger Pecresse, is in charge of transports in the region. Socialist Hidalgo said the RER (regional express train) station at Porte Maillot in western Paris would not be ready for the July 26-Aug 11 Games.

Persons: Mayor Anne Hidalgo, Sarah Meyssonnier, Anne Hidalgo, Hidalgo, Valerie Pecresse, Pecresse, I'm, Julien Pretot, Ken Ferris Organizations: Mayor, Mayors, Association, REUTERS, Rights, Olympics, Regional Council, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, Porte

A SUV car drives on a street in Paris as Paris City Hall will organise a public vote on the place of SUV cars in the French capital, France, November 20, 2023. After banning rental scooters in September in the wake of a citizen's vote, Paris will hold a local referendum on Feb. 4 about "the place of SUVs in the capital". Since SUVs can be hard to distinguish from other models, City Hall wants to introduce higher parking fees for thermal engine cars weighing over 1.6 tonnes and for electric vehicles over two tonnes. "(The SUV vote) is to tell all those who continue to use their private cars because they're the richest: No! In a few years, in a few months, they won't be welcome in Paris with this type of behaviour," Belliard said.

Persons: Sarah Meyssonnier, David Belliard, Anne Hidalgo, Belliard, Paris, Philippe Noziere, Henri Duret, Antonia Cimini, Clotaire Achi, Louise Dalmasso, Geert De Clercq, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Paris City Hall, REUTERS, Hall, Reuters, Manufacturers, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, PARIS

☆ The key to fighting the urban doom loop might be a downtown beach
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-18 | by ( Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Urban rivers, lakes, and parks can also be the key to making cities more resilient to climate change. The 1,200 tons of sand near Greenwich Village along the Hudson river would have to do. But there's no public pool nearby, and no sanctioned river swim spots in the city. The sandy bluff on Gansevoort peninsula is part of the much larger Hudson River park and looks out over Little Island, a whimsical, highly instagrammable transformation of Pier 55. Seattle has torn down an elevated freeway downtown to make way for a waterfront park.

Persons: Mia Olis, Olis, they'll, Amanda Weinstein, Hudson, Karin Balow, Eliza Relman, Bill O'Leary, Trey Sherard, It's, vVJ9elwcss, Sherard, Charles, satchel, Paris, Anne Hidalgo, he's Organizations: Service, University of Akron, Hudson, Inwood, New, Battery, Park, DC, Navy, Nationals, Anacostia, Prince, AFP, Agency, Army Corps of Engineers, Yacht Locations: Chelsea, Hawaii, Greenwich Village, Harlem, New York, Rivers, Upper Manhattan, Manhattan, Jersey City, New York City, Hudson, Little, Manhattan's, Brooklyn, Domino, Queens, Governor's, . Cleveland , Ohio, Lake Erie, Cuyahoga, . Seattle, Potomac, Anacostia, Washington , DC, Prince George's County , Maryland, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Iraja, Black, Boston, Switzerland's, Zurich, Lake Zurich, Bern, who's, American

☆ Opinion: Paris’ bedbug bedlam
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( David A. Andelman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

He formerly was a foreign correspondent for The New York Times and Paris correspondent for CBS News. But conquering the city’s bedbug infestation, too, could prove to be an Olympian challenge. The deputy mayor of Paris has also asked Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne to take it on. A French government survey found that at least 11% of all French households reported having a bedbug infestation between 2017 and 2022. The tried-and-true solution to combating bedbugs is as old as Paris itself.

Persons: David A, CNN —, David Andelman, Élisabeth Borne, Borne, they’re, ”, Mathilde Panot, bedbugs, ” Panot, who’d, Anne Hidalgo, Emmanuel Gregoire, implore Borne, Gregoire, Hidalgo, they’ve, Charles de Gaulle, Jean, Michel Berenger, Dior, Mayra Peralta, “, Rue de Solferino, you’ve Organizations: CNN, French Legion of, The New York Times, CBS News, Maison, Legion, French Socialist Party, David Andelman CNN, Paris, bedbugs, Metro, Paris’s, French National, France Insoumise, Paralympic, EnVi Media, PUNAISES RUE DE, Rue de Locations: Paris, Paris’s, France, Seine, Le, “, Rue

☆ Climate Week can make me feel cynical but there are signs that change might be underway
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Yet global emissions have continued to climb since 2015 when countries agreed to curb warming. Yet global emissions have kept growing since 2015, when nearly 200 countries struck the Paris Agreement aimed at averting the most catastrophic effects of a warming planet. There's also more willingness to name the main driver of climate change: fossil fuels. President Joe Biden didn't attend the Climate Ambition Summit and instead sent the nation's climate envoy, John Kerry. Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall, Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante, and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo have headlined events.

Persons: execs, I've, General António Guterres, Alden Meyer, —, Meyer, There's, Gavin Newsom, Sultan Al Jaber, Al Jaber, Al Jaber's, Joe Biden didn't, John Kerry, Biden would've, Erin Mendenhall, Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, Yvonne Aki Organizations: Service, United Nations, Ambition, California Gov, United Arab Emirates, Associated Press, UN, Montreal Mayor, Paris Mayor Locations: Wall, Silicon, New York City, Paris, China, India, Russia, Japan, Colombia, Panama, Brazil, California, Dubai, UAE's, UAE, Alaska, Salt Lake, COP28, Africa

PARIS (AP) — Paris has rescinded a special honor it bestowed on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas because of his recent antisemitic comments minimizing the Holocaust. No cause can justify revisionism and negationism.”Hidalgo awarded Abbas the city’s highest honor, the Grand Bronze of Paris, in 2015 for his efforts toward peace in the Middle East and a two-state solution. In a speech last month to senior members of his Fatah movement, Abbas said that Adolf Hitler killed European Jews not because of antisemitism, but because of their “social functions” in society, such as money lending. In the Holocaust, 6 million Jews and others were murdered by the Nazis and their allies. Hitler considered Jews to be an inferior race and viciously promoted antisemitic stereotypes to incite violence and discrimination against Europe’s Jews as the Third Reich carried out the genocide.

Persons: — Paris, Mahmoud Abbas, Mayor Anne Hidalgo, Hidalgo, “, ” Hidalgo, Abbas, Fatah, Adolf Hitler, Hitler, Reich Organizations: PARIS, —, Mayor, European Union Locations: Paris, Nazi, United States, Germany

☆ Can There Be Too Many Cafes in Paris?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Liz Alderman | More About Liz Alderman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The sound of clinking wine glasses floated through the evening air recently as throngs of patrons sipped chilled rosé and nibbled on cheese plates in front of the cafes, restaurants and épiceries bordering Place d’Aligre in the Bastille district of Paris. Waiters threaded through the crowd, their trays loaded with Aperol spritzes and oysters, as more people hurried in to meet friends. Paris has long been renowned for its bustling cafe culture, with 13,000 open-air terraces occupying sidewalks and squares in the years before the pandemic. But thousands of additional outdoor spaces bloomed under an emergency program set up to relieve businesses during Covid lockdowns. They are now permanent, after a 2021 decree by Mayor Anne Hidalgo that allows them to return every year from April through November.

Persons: lockdowns, Anne Hidalgo Locations: Bastille, Paris

☆ Opinion: ‘I wouldn’t swim in that water at gunpoint.’ Paris locals aren’t the only ones dubious about Olympic plans
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( David A. Andelman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Paris CNN —Back in the 1980s, when I first began living in Paris, I once had to clamber onto the tiny exterior staircase that surrounds the Eiffel Tower and is used to paint or repair it. Still, at that time, nothing could have impelled me to risk a swim in that other iconic Parisian sight — the Seine River — not without a full biohazard suit. Today’s Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, has made a similar promise, and local authorities have put 1.4 billion euros ($1.55 billion) behind it. Paris has indeed made strides in cleaning up its famous river — water samples from June showed “excellent results” in complying with European regulation, according to city hall. In 1972’s “Last Tango in Paris,” Marlon Brando and Maria Schneider first meet on a Seine bridge.

Persons: David A, David Andelman, “, ”, Mort Rosenblum, who’s, Pont, he’s, Mort, Jacques Chirac, he’d, ” Brice Lalonde, Anne Hidalgo, he’ll, Hidalgo, Chirac, doesn’t, Emmanuel Grégoire, Pierre Rabadan, Louis, Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant, Leslie Caron, Gene Kelly, ” Marlon Brando, Maria Schneider, Roger Moore’s James Bond, Liam Neeson, ” Chris Tucker, Jackie Chan Organizations: CNN, French Legion of, The New York Times, CBS News, Paris CNN —, David Andelman CNN, CBS, acrophobia, International Herald Tribune, Concorde, of, Today’s, Paris, Olympic, Paralympic Games, ”, Twitter, “ Locations: Paris, gunpoint, Seine, French, Hidalgo, Montebello, “ An American

CNN —Paris plans to make the Seine the centerpiece of the 2024 Olympic Games, with long-term efforts to clean up the river allowing swimming events to take place in its waters. “At the Paris 2024 Games, the athletes will inaugurate swimming in the river with the Olympic events. A revival that will pave the way for aquatic leisure,” reads a statement from Paris city hall published July 10. An empty boat travels the River Seine during the technical test event last week for the Paris 2024 opening ceremony. This will allow open water swimming events, paratriathlon and triathlon events to take place by the Alexandre III bridge.

Persons: CNN —, Catherine Steenkeste, Nicolas Londinsky, Alexandre III, Bras de, Londinsky, ”, Anne Hidalgo, ” Hidalgo Organizations: CNN, Olympic Games, “, Authorities, Bercy Locations: Seine, Paris, Bras Marie, Bras de Grenelle, ”

☆ Actress and singer Jane Birkin dies, France loses an 'icon'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( John Irish | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

PARIS, July 16 (Reuters) - British-born actress and singer Jane Birkin, a 1960s wildchild who became a beloved figure in France, has died in Paris aged 76. Jane Mallory Birkin was born in London in December 1946, daughter of British actress Judy Campbell and Royal Navy commander David Birkin. [1/8]A person takes a photo near the house turned museum where late actor and singer Jane Birkin has lived with singer Serge Gainsbourg, in Paris, France July 16, 2023. "It's unimaginable to live in a world without you," said French singer Etienne Daho, who produced and composed Birkin's last album in 2020. She is survived by two daughters the singer and actress Charlotte, born in 1971, and Lou Doillon, also an actress, born in 1982.

Persons: Jane Birkin, Birkin, Serge Gainsbourg, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, Jane Mallory Birkin, Judy Campbell, David Birkin, John Barry, Michelangelo Antonioni, Pascal Rossignol, Gainsbourg, Jane, Etienne Daho, Brigitte Bardot, Bardot, Jacques Doillon, Jean, Louis Dumas, Charlotte, Lou Doillon, Kate, John Irish, David Goodman, Frances Kerry Organizations: French Culture Ministry, Paris Mayor, Royal Navy, REUTERS, Moi, BBC, Vatican, Thomson Locations: France, Paris, French, London, British

☆ Jane Birkin, Singer, Actress and Fashion Inspiration, Dies at 76
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( Constant Méheut | More About Constant Méheut | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“He wrote for me from 1968 until the day he died,” Ms. Birkin said in an interview with The New York Times in 2018. Ms. Birkin said she had not been able to find a leather bag she liked. Hermès devised the Birkin, which was, as she requested, “four times the size of a Kelly.’'Ms. Birkin was additionally popular in France as an activist for women’s and L.G.B.T.Q. rights and also for her British accent when speaking French, which the French found endearing. “We will never forget her songs, her laughs and her incomparable accent which have always accompanied us.”

Persons: “, ” Ms, Birkin, I’d, Ms, Birkin’s, Kelly, ’ ’, Grace Kelly, Hermès, Jean, Louis Dumas, ’, Anne Hidalgo, ” Organizations: The New York Times, YouTube, Paris Locations: London, France

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