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Traveling to France? What You Need to Know About the Protests.

Unrest has spread across France in response to the fatal police shooting of a 17-year-old in a Paris suburb. Here’s what to expect.

By Ceylan Yeginsu

Violent protests have spread across France over the past week since the fatal police shooting of a 17-year-old in a Paris suburb.

More than 800 people were arrested on Thursday night after protesters caused widespread destruction in dozens of cities, setting cars and buildings on fire, looting stores and clashing with the riot police. On Friday, many roads in the Paris region and other major cities like Marseille were cordoned off, and public transport routes were disrupted as more than 40,000 police officers were deployed across the country to bring the protests under control.

With the peak summer travel season underway, many tourists are headed to Paris and other parts of France for their summer vacations. Here’s what you need to know about how your trip might be affected.

Which cities have been hit hardest?

The clashes began in the Paris suburb of Nanterre on Tuesday night, after the police shot and killed the male teenage driver — a French citizen of North African descent, publicly identified as Nahel M. — who was stopped at a traffic light. The violence quickly spread to nearby areas in the greater Paris region as news of the killing reignited decades-long grievances over racial discrimination in working-class areas. The police officer who shot the driver was detained on Thursday on charges of voluntary homicide.

After three nights of riots, Clamart, in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, imposed a curfew between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. through Monday. Other communities affected by the violence include Bezons, Gennevilliers, Garges-lès-Gonesse, Meudon and L’Île-St.-Denis, close to the headquarters of the 2024 Olympics.

The center of Paris, home to tourist attractions like the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower, had largely been unaffected until Thursday night, when looters descended onto the Rue de Rivoli, one of the city’s main shopping streets, and ransacked a Nike store.

Police asked people in popular tourist areas in Marseille and Bordeaux to leave the area on Thursday night after fires were set alongside streets, and violent clashes erupted between the police and protesters. On Friday, Marseille banned all demonstrations.

How has transport been affected?

On Friday, the Interior Ministry ordered the suspension of all bus and tram services after sunset, in response to the unrest.

The greater Paris region had already reduced services in recent days to limit the mobility of the protesters at night, and the city’s metro system will close an hour early over the weekend. Île-de-France Mobilités, the regional transport agency, has been issuing service updates on its website.

Is it safe to visit France?

The State Department has not advised against travel to France, but it issued a security alert on Thursday highlighting the violence and urging United States citizens to avoid “mass gatherings and areas of significant police activity.”

“Some cities are imposing curfews,” the alert said. “As always, it is a good practice to notify friends or family of your whereabouts.”

A State Department advisory issued in 2022 remains in place, urging travelers to “exercise increased caution in France due to terrorism and civil unrest.”

Follow New York Times Travel on Instagram and sign up for our weekly Travel Dispatch newsletter to get expert tips on traveling smarter and inspiration for your next vacation. Dreaming up a future getaway or just armchair traveling? Check out our 52 Places to Go in 2023 .

Ceylan Yeginsu is a travel reporter. She was previously a correspondent for the International desk in Britain and Turkey, covering politics; social justice; the migrant crisis; the Kurdish conflict, and the rise of Islamic State extremism in Syria and the region. More about Ceylan Yeginsu

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What to know if you are travelling to Paris during protests and strikes

PARIS – The guests who checked into Rosewood’s Hotel de Crillon last week were likely visiting Paris for all the city’s enduring draws – the food, the romance, the museums and the fashion.

But last Thursday evening, their US$2,450 (S$3,290)-a-night rooms became the doorstep of a massive protest at the adjacent Place de la Concorde filled with thousands of citizens speaking out against the government’s use of a constitutional provision to pass its retirement Bill, which failed to gather the majority of representatives in France’s lower house of parliament. 

In response to the reforms planned by President Emmanuel Macron, garbage collectors have been on strike since March 6.

Piles of trash are stacking up around Paris, as garbage collectors protest against the raising of their industry’s retirement age from 57 to 59. The walkout of the trash collectors was set to run at least to March 20, but could run longer. 

Until this year, the last time that protests on this scale affected the city was in late 2018 and early 2019, when Yellow Vests clashed with government forces, sometimes violently, in cities throughout France.

Tourism took a clear hit. Local transit and hotel companies such as Accor saw their shares dip and tourist sites such as the Louvre and Orsay museums shut down for safety.

Thus far, the protests in Paris remain unthreatening to tourists.

There is no indication that travellers should consider cancelling their plans, and the United States’ Department of State travel advisory remains at a standard Level 2 – the same as virtually every popular tourism destination in Europe or the Caribbean.

There are some signs of rising tensions, however. Police used water cannons last Thursday to disperse the protestors at the Place de la Concorde, which is just across a bridge from France’s National Assembly.

There is a lot at stake. In 2022, France’s international tourism spending reached €50 billion (S$71.6 billion), surpassing pre-pandemic levels by €1.2 billion, and representing 10 per cent of France’s gross domestic product. 

France also remains on track to regain its pre-pandemic title as the most-visited country in the world by 2025, according to data analytics.

National carrier Air France is also boosting its service to pre-pandemic levels this summer, ahead of an anticipated surge in demand and the return of Chinese travellers.

Difficulty getting around

But that does not mean that visitors will find Paris unaffected. Some pavements in the city have become impassable, full of garbage bags leaking rotting food and spilling broken bottles onto the pavement.

Although France’s interior minister has promised to requisition rubbish collectors to start to dig out the backlog, there has not been any evidence that many are back on the job in those neighbourhoods affected by the strike.

Meanwhile, the arrival of Americans on spring break and other international travellers has led to visitors spreading photos, posts and comments about the rubbish piles around Paris.

How to plan ahead

Those piles could disappear rapidly if collectors are, indeed, forced back onto the job. For residents and visitors, there is not much to do about that – except perhaps to hold your nose.

But there are a few precautions that travellers can take to ensure their trips are otherwise unaffected by the political unrest.

In anticipation of possible transit strikes, which took place amid the 2018 and 2019 protests, it could be prudent to schedule an airport transfer via your hotel.

Not only will you circumvent any unplanned changes to the public transit service, but the hotel will also be responsible for guaranteeing your service or communicating clearly about any anticipated challenges should taxi drivers suddenly join the trash collectors. 

Before leaving on a romantic stroll of the city, check in with the front desk or concierge. They are likely to know where and when protests are planned, so you are not inadvertently swept into a demonstration. 

Note that the next major day of strikes and protests is scheduled for Thursday.

Ms Gail Boisclair, founder of furnished rentals company PerfectlyParis, has been telling her clients to avoid the areas around Republique and Bastille on Saturdays because of the demonstrations, but says strikes come with the territory.

“Everyone knows the French strike, and if you come to France, you might get a strike,” she notes. “But it’s not always with our garbage.” 

Ms Boisclair says she saw rubbish piled up high around the ninth and 17th arrondissements. 

Ms Lindsey Tramuta, journalist and author of The New Parisienne, recommends that visitors download the Citymapper app. “It’s great to use for knowing if public transport is disrupted and which routes in particular, or in the case of big demonstrations, if certain stations will be closed for safety,” she says.

For those who do not speak French, she also advises keeping an eye on English-language media such as France24 and The Local France for up-to-date information on strikes.

And while it may seem obvious, check the social media of attractions such as museums, to make sure they are open. You do not want to trek across a city only to find out that museum workers are also on strike.

The Paris Tourism Office’s Twitter (@ParisJeTaime) is also a good resource on closures, as well as that of local guide @paris_by_elodie.

But most importantly, tourists should exercise patience and budget extra time to get around. The metro service, rail schedules and even airport operations have all seen on-and-off disruption during the recent protests. BLOOMBERG

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Protests in Paris: how unrest could impact Easter travel plans

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Paris has been gripped by strikes and demonstrations related to the recent, controversial pension reform. Left Bank bistro La Rotonde was damaged on the 11th day of action © Julian de Rosa/AFP via Getty Images

Over the last few weeks, images of overflowing garbage bins and violent street protests in Paris  have dominated the international news cycle – raising qualms among travelers.

If you have plans to visit the French capital this spring, here’s the low-down on how to experience the city fully – but safely.

What’s happening in France and why are people striking? 

Over the last three months, the government’s unpopular pension-reform scheme, which will gradually raise the age of retirement from 62 to 64, has unleashed a wave of discontent in France .

The level of anger and violence escalated after the government used a controversial executive power to push through the bill without putting it to a vote in parliament, where it faced fierce opposition.

Millions of people have marched in union-organized protests since they began in January. The 11th day of protests took place this week on Thursday April 6 with trains and planes disrupted as well as hundreds of thousands taking to the streets to demonstrate. Left Bank  brasserie La Rotonde, a haunt of  President Macron, saw it's awning set on fire.  Trade unions have vowed to continue staging rolling strikes until the bill is withdrawn.

Is it safe to visit Paris?

Since October 2022, the US State Department has placed France at a Level 2 travel advisory, which recommends that citizens exercise “increased caution” due to threats of terrorism and civil unrest.

The US embassy has also been regularly releasing “demonstration alerts” advising people to avoid demonstrations and areas with significant police activity, to be vigilant of surroundings and to notify friends and family of their safety. The most popular spots for protests have been Place de la Bastille , Place de la République and Place de la Concorde . 

Overall, authorized protests have been largely peaceful and can even be festive in atmosphere, with music, food and dancing. But this vibe has been largely restricted to the early start of the marches. The atmosphere tends to degenerate as the protests continue and the crowds of peaceful demonstrators begin to thin, and clashes between anarchist infiltrators and anti-riot police heat up. These violent protesters set fires, shoot fireworks, smash storefront windows and throw projectiles; in reaction, police have been using tear gas, water cannons and batons to disperse crowds.

Travelers should also be aware that protesters, mainly young people, have been staging spontaneous, unauthorized protests and sit-ins that have often ended in violence as well. 

You can minimize the risk of being caught up in the chaos and being at the receiving end of either projectile or tear gas by steering clear of the protests as much as possible.

How can I keep up to speed on the latest developments?

Aside from international news sites, the best way to keep your ear to the ground on the latest developments in Paris is to monitor local English-language sites like France24 , RFI and The Local France . 

On these platforms, you’ll find information about how Paris was left to stew in 10,000 tons of uncollected waste after garbage collectors joined the pension-reform strikes. Waste collection has since resumed, but workers warn strike action could resume.

For the latest updates, your best bet is Twitter, where tourist attractions and public transport operators post closures and disruptions in real-time. The city’s official tourism office also posts a comprehensive list of how strike action affects Métro, regional RER and Transilien train lines, as well as Parisian airports and attractions. On the most recent day of protests, March 28, walkouts resulted in the closure of the Eiffel Tower , the Musée d’Orsay , the Musée du Louvre and the Château de Versailles .

How do strikes and protests affect public transport and airports?

On strike days, service is drastically reduced on rail lines (including the Eurostar), buses, ferries and air travel. 

The French civil aviation authority regularly asks airlines to cancel up to 30% of flights on and around strike days when air traffic controllers walk off the job. (Most of the cancellations have affected short-haul flights in and out of Paris–Orly; long-haul international flights out of Charles de Gaulle airport have seen fewer cancellations.) Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has called for political intervention , complaining that the French strikes have forced his airline to cancel 230 flights, and that one million passengers have been affected.

Travelers should consult their airlines for updates.

Be aware, however, that protesters have also stormed Paris airports and set up blockades on highways, forcing travelers to reach the airport on foot. Give yourself plenty of time to get to the airport, especially if you’re traveling on a strike day.

Expect reduced service and overcrowded trains on the Métro , as well as on train cancellations. Count on packing a pair of good walking shoes.

What do I do if closures affect my itinerary?

Restaurants and shops are generally open, but may close on strike days if they lie along demonstration routes (consult local media for those).

If your booking for the Louvre or Eiffel Tower is canceled due to strike action, take it as an opportunity to discover alternatives. 

For instance, instead of the Louvre, check out the Musée Bourdelle , which is dedicated to the sculptor Antoine Bourdelle and which reopened to the public this month following extensive renovations. Instead of the Eiffel Tower, consider climbing to the top of the Tour Montparnasse , which offers sweeping views of the city (including perhaps the best view in town of the Eiffel Tower itself). And instead of Versailles, consider visiting the Château de Chantilly , a magnificent castle 40 minutes by train from Paris that houses the second-largest collection of antique paintings in France (after the Louvre) as well as sprawling gardens.

Overall, if you’re vigilant, flexible about last-minute changes and open to new experiences, your Parisian experience should go relatively smoothly.

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Have a Trip to Paris Planned? What to Know About Ongoing Protests

After a series of pension protests throughout the first half of the year, french citizens again took to the streets after a police officer killed a 17-year-old boy. here’s the latest information..

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In France, riot police have been repeatedly called in as tensions escalate.

Photo by Shutterstock

A fresh wave of protests took place throughout France in late June and early July after a police officer killed a 17-year-old delivery driver during a traffic stop. The teenager, named Nahel, was of North African descent and died on Tuesday, June 27, sparking outrage throughout the country.

In the days following the killing, riots broke out in dozens of cities throughout France, with incidents of arson, clashes, and looting, the Associated Press reported . After six nights of unrest and more than 3,400 arrests, the violence appeared to be abating as of this week, AP reported.

In its latest update , security risk and crisis management firm Crisis24 notes that “protests and widespread incidents of violence in reaction to the June 27 police-involved killing of a teenager near Paris have reduced significantly, as of July 5. Authorities reported that Paris and other urban centers were relatively calm overnight July 3–4 and 4–5. Police announced significant reductions of violent incidents, arrests, and injuries, after a peak on June 30.”

According to Crisis24, several political organizations have called for additional marches on July 8 . “These demonstrations are likely to attract thousands of attendees. The locations and timings of events are not yet known,” the firm stated. “Tensions will likely remain high nationwide as authorities prepare for possible rioting in the coming days.”

The most recent unrest comes in the wake of numerous rounds of protests that have been taking place in Paris and around France since the start of the year. Previously, demonstrators had been voicing their opposition to French President Emmanuel Macron’s new pension plan, which pushes the retirement age from 62 to 64 and was enacted into law on April 14. Those protests had become more muted recently, having dwindled from gatherings with tens of thousands of participants earlier this spring to much smaller groups of several hundred citizens.

Heaping piles of garbage were removed from the Paris streets at the end of March and in early April when a garbage collectors’ strike that had been in effect since March 6 was finally called off; the strike was in response to their newly proposed retirement age, up to 59 from 57.

A new round of escalations could again disrupt services such as public transportation.

Is it safe to travel to Paris?

The U.S. Embassy in Paris has issued a “security alert,” warning that there are ongoing demonstrations in and around the Paris region and other major French cities “following the June 27 police shooting in the Parisian suburb of Nanterre.”

“These demonstrations, along with spontaneous protests, are expected to continue and may turn violent. U.S. citizens should avoid mass gatherings and areas of significant police activity as they can turn violent and result in clashes,” the U.S. Embassy states.

The embassy also reports that some cities in France are imposing curfews and advises that U.S. citizens avoid demonstrations and areas with increased police activity and monitor the news for updates. (English-language French media outlets include France 24 , RFI, and the Local. ) The locations of protests are not often known in advance, so it’s important to stay up to date on the latest.

As of July 6, 2023, the U.S. State Department’s France Travel Advisory remains unchanged at a Level 2 (indicating that travelers should continue to exercise increased caution). The U.S. Embassy cites the reasons as terrorism and civil unrest.

What should you do if you’re traveling to France? The U.S. State Department recommends that U.S. citizens in France “avoid areas around protests and demonstrations” as “past demonstrations have turned violent . . . in case of violence or property damage, French authorities may use chemical agents and water cannons to disperse crowds.” It also notes that “strikes can interfere with travel plans.”

For additional assistance, contact the U.S. Embassy in Paris at +33 (1) 43 12 22 22 or [email protected].

Are flights to France, transportation services, and other businesses affected by the protests?

Following the latest unrest, the public transit system “remains disrupted, with bus, tram, and rail services in several major cities suspending or limiting operations,” Crisis24 reports. In the Paris region, the transport operator RATP has at time suspended some bus, tram, metro, and RER train lines, so be sure to check the latest before making any travel plans using public transit.

During the pension protests, among those that had been walking out on the job were air traffic controllers, which most recently planned strike actions on May 1 and 2. As a result, the French Civil Aviation Authority asked all airlines to reduce their flight schedules to and from Paris Orly airport and several other French airports on May 1 and May 2.

During the strike, Air France operated all of its long-haul flights, all flights to and from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, and about 70 percent of flights between Paris-Orly and other French airports. Passengers who experienced a flight cancellation due to strike activity could opt for either a future flight credit or a full refund, according to Air France.

During strike actions, “last-minute delays and cancellations cannot be ruled out,” Air France said.

Another round of air traffic controller strikes has not yet been announced or scheduled but shouldn’t be ruled out by travelers.

In addition to worker strikes that can affect services such as public transport systems, the ongoing protests in France can create traffic and transportation congestion and service interruptions in and around major cities, including potential delays in travel between downtown and the main Paris airports, Charles de Gaulle and Orly.

Crisis24 advises travelers to confirm all transportation reservations. “Do not check out of accommodations until onward travel is confirmed,” the firm notes, adding that travelers should allow extra time for travel in major French cities.

As of press time, major museums and attractions in Paris, including the Louvre , Musée d’Orsay , Eiffel Tower , and Sacré Coeur , remain open to visitors during regular operating hours—although the Louvre and Eiffel Tower have both temporarily closed during protests, so be sure to check daily with regards to opening hours and operations.

Graffiti in Paris in the aftermath of a police killing of a teenager named Nahel.

Lyndsey Matthews

What does it feel like on the ground in Paris right now?

The riots have “definitely died down,” says Lyndsey Matthews, AFAR’s senior commerce editor, who was in Paris at the height of the latest round of uprisings in early July following the police killing. “When I was there, I saw nothing. I noticed a few shops on the Champs-Elysées were boarded up and they apparently cleared the Place de Concorde after I was there Friday evening, but it wasn’t noticeable as a tourist.” On the average day in Paris, “it feels fine on the ground, honestly,” says Lindsey Tramuta, a freelance writer and frequent AFAR contributor based in Paris. “I would recommend travelers keep following the news about it and if and when there are additional strikes or demonstrations planned, which are announced in advance, that they avoid those areas.”

What are the 2023 Paris protests about?

The latest unrest in Paris and throughout France followed the police shooting of Nahel, a 17-year-old boy of Algerian heritage, in the Paris suburb of Nanterre, an incident that was captured on video, CNN reported . The killing surfaced concerns and outrage about ongoing issues of racism and poverty in France, and the subsequent uprisings prompted President Macron to ban large-scale events in France as tensions remain high.

The riots come in the wake of months of pension protests in Paris and throughout France that represent the most significant demonstrations since the Yellow Vests Movement (named after the fluorescent vests protesters wore during the demonstrations), which began in late 2018 and continued into early 2019. Back then, French people were opposed to President Macron’s fuel tax hike (instituted to reduce emissions) and to the government’s economic policies and the high cost of living.

In 2023, French citizens are once again fed up—this time that Macron’s government implemented Article 49.3 of the Constitution to pass a bill without a vote in the Assemblée Nationale that pushes back the retirement age from 62 to 64 for most workers and requires that citizens have worked for at least 43 years in order to access a full pension. The global average retirement age in 2020 was 64.2 for men and 63.4 for women, according to the most recent data available from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) .

President Macron explained the reasoning behind the new policy, stating, “People know that yes, on average, you have to work a little longer . . . because otherwise we won’t be able to finance our pensions properly,” the Associated Press reported .

But as Lisa Bryant of NPR’s Morning Edition notes , “The French are fiercely protective of their universal health care and generous pensions. It’s a choice society has made: Work hard, pay high taxes, but also retire at a relatively young age with a high standard of living.”

And now French citizens are rising up again in opposition to police brutality and discrimination against marginalized communities.

This story was originally published on March 21, 2023, and has been updated to include current information.

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Au Revoir: How violent protests in France are driving away tourists

Protests, with vandalism and looting, have broken out in France after a 17-year-old was fatally shot by a police officer. The violence is impacting the country’s tourism, with hotels and restaurants facing cancellations and some even sustaining damage

Since a 17-year-old was fatally shot by a police officer in a suburb of Paris last week, violent protests have broken out across France.

As of Saturday, more than 1,300 individuals have been arrested as protesters caused extensive damage in dozens of cities by torching cars and buildings, robbing shops, and fighting with riot police.

On Friday, more than 40,000 police officers were deployed around the nation to put an end to the protests. As a result, numerous roads in the Paris region and other important towns like Marseille were blocked off, and public transport was interrupted.

The country’s tourism industry is now beginning to feel the effects of the protests, with hotels and restaurants experiencing cancellations and some even suffering damage. The United Kingdom has even issued a warning for anyone planning to visit the violence-hit country.

Let’s take a closer look.

Also read: French Fury: How shooting of 17-year-old has led to protests and violence

Tourism affected

Following the death of 17-year-old Nahel during a traffic stop in a suburb of Paris on Tuesday, chef Thierry Marx, president of the major association for employers in the hotel and catering industry said, “Our hotel members have suffered a wave of cancellations of reservations in all the territories affected by the damage and clashes.”

Marx claimed on Friday that he was getting signals from business owners who had experienced “attacks, looting, and destruction of their businesses, including some restaurants and cafes” on a daily basis.

“Our establishments are intrinsically hospitality venues, and sometimes even refuges and places of help in crisis situations. They must not suffer the consequences of anger that they have not aroused and we condemn these actions,” he added.

Marx demands that “everything” be done by the government to ensure the security of those employed in the world’s most well-known tourist destination’s hotel and catering sectors.

According to managing director Jacques Creyssel, the French Retail Federation (FCD) also demanded increased police protection in and around businesses.

He said that more than a hundred medium and big food or non-food establishments were vandalised, looted, or even set on fire as a result of the disturbances, which “gave rise to real scenes of looting.”

Creyssel claimed that these instances “are extremely serious and have an extremely heavy cost” and that he had urged the trade, interior, and economy ministers to take appropriate action.

In order to “provide the necessary support and technical assistance, particularly in terms of continuing operations, insurance compensation, etc. for traders and managers of affected companies,” the Paris Ile-de-France Chamber of Commerce said it was mobilising its teams.

Also read: France unrest: 40,000 police personnel will be deployed to quell violence that followed deadly police shooting

Security concerns

The GHR organisation for independent hotels and restaurants in France deplored that “foreign (TV networks) are starting to show images of Paris on fire and blood, which does not correspond to reality."

“Will the violence and riots continue and cause a real wave of cancellations? That’s the risk,” managing director Franck Trouet told AFP .

“Asian tourists, in particular, who are very concerned about security, may not hesitate to postpone or cancel their trip,” he warned.

Didier Arino, managing director of the Protourisme firm said, “Tourists who know us well, like the Belgians or the British, who also have problems themselves in their suburbs, will be able to make sense of things."

But in the end, he said “It’s as if we were doing a negative publicity campaign worth several tens of millions of euros for destination France."

The confederation of tobacconists was also indignant at the “looting and ransacking of shops, including 91 tobacconists during these last days of clashes."

“If it continues like this, it can significantly complicate the organisation of the Olympic Games, especially since a good part of the events will take place in Seine-Saint-Denis,” a disadvantaged area in the north of Paris, said Jean-Francois Rial, president of the Paris Tourist Office.

Also read: France: Government heightens security after unrest following murder of 17-year-old during police check

Travel advisories issued

Following the outbreak of violent protests in France, the United Kingdom has issued a caution to anyone planning to visit the country.

The Foreign Office has amended its travel advice for France, cautioning people that the protests may cause their vacation to be interrupted. “Since June 27th, protests have taken place in Paris and other locations across France,” it said.

“Some have turned violent. The protests may lead to disruptions to road travel or targeting of parked cars in areas where protests take place. You should monitor the media, avoid protests, check the latest advice with operators when travelling and follow the advice of the authorities.”

The Foreign Office website adds: “If demonstrations do turn violent, a heavy police/gendarmerie presence is to be expected. Avoid demonstrations wherever possible and follow the advice of the local authorities.”

The State Department of the United States has not warned against visiting France, but on Thursday it issued a security notice noting the violence and advising US citizens to stay away from “mass gatherings and areas of significant police activity."”

The alert noted that “some cities are enforcing curfews.” “As always, keeping your friends and family informed of your whereabouts is a good practise.”

Travellers are still advised to “exercise increased caution in France due to terrorism and civil unrest,” according to a State Department warning from 2022.

Cities hit hardest

The clashes started on Tuesday night in Nanterre, a suburb of Paris when the police shot and killed a male teenage driver who was stopped at a stop sign and was officially identified as Nahel M, a French citizen of North African heritage.

As soon as word of the killing spread throughout the wider Paris area, long-standing frustrations against racial prejudice in working-class regions erupted once more. The policeman who shot the driver was taken into custody on Thursday on suspicion of committing a willful homicide.

A curfew was put in place between the hours of 9 pm and 6 am through Monday in Clamart, a suburb of Paris in the southwest, following three nights of rioting.

According to The New York Times , Bezons, Gennevilliers, Garges-lès-Gonesse, Meudon, and L’Île-St.-Denis, which is adjacent to the 2024 Olympic headquarters, are further localities that have been impacted by the violence.

The heart of Paris, where the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower are located, had remained relatively unscathed until Thursday night, when a Nike store was plundered on the Rue de Rivoli, one of the city’s main retail districts.

On Thursday night, after street fires were lit and violent clashes broke out between the police and protesters, authorities in Marseille and Bordeaux ordered tourists to avoid the region. Marseille prohibited all protests on Friday.

Transport services stopped

In light of ongoing protests following a police officer’s fatal shooting of a 17-year-old boy in the Parish suburb of Nanterre on Tuesday, all bus and tram services nationwide were instructed to halt operating after nightfall on Friday. This is according to the British broadcasting channel iTV .

The metro system of the city will close an hour earlier during the weekend. The greater Paris region had already cut services in recent days to limit the mobility of the demonstrators at night.

The regional transport organisation, Île-de-France Mobilités, has begun posting service updates on its website.

Call for peace

France’s national soccer team — including international star Kylian Mbappe, an idol to many young people in the disadvantaged neighbourhoods where the anger is rooted — pleaded for an end to the violence.

“Many of us are from working-class neighbourhoods, we too share this feeling of pain and sadness” over the killing of 17-year-old Nahel, the players said in a statement. “Violence resolves nothing. … There are other peaceful and constructive ways to express yourself.”

They said it’s time for “mourning, dialogue and reconstruction” instead.

With inputs from AFP and the Associated Press

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‘tourismphobia’: protests, bans, fees and fines at european hotspots to keep visitors away.

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A demonstration against overtourism on April 20, 2024, in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Tenerife, Canary ... [+] Islands, Spain.

Binibeca, a picture-perfect small town in Spain’s popular Balearic island of Minorca, has everything required to please tourists: whitewashed houses with terracotta tile roofs, narrow cobblestone streets, winding alleys, quaint staircases, street names in white-and-blue tiles — and all overlooking the marine blue of the Mediterranean.

Although the town is, in reality, a replica of an authentic fishing village and was built in the 1960s, it’s often compared to Mykonos in Greece and, like the ultra-famous Greek island, it has a serious problem.

Tourists, many thousands of them, descend upon the little village of just 1,000 inhabitants, particularly during the summer, jamming the narrow streets, making noise, tossing garbage everywhere, entering private houses without permission, climbing onto private terraces for photos, and having parties in the streets and on the beaches.

Binibeca, a small fisherman's village in Menorca

Now Binibeca has decided “to rebel against tourist overcrowding, to restrict access to visitors and to vote for total closure due to the lack of aid from officials to manage summer saturation,” explains the Spanish daily El Pais .

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“The town is closing because it is fed up with tourists” reports the digital daily Hoy Aragon . “Instead of waiting for action from the city council, the residents have imposed new regulations on visitors.”

To safeguard their well-being, they have decided to follow the example of other towns and apply a schedule for visits, from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., and even have raised the possibility of completely closing to tourism if disruptive behavior persists.

Binibeca is only a recent example in a surge of actions by officials and inhabitants in destinations overwhelmed by tourists who have decided to take severe measures to discourage visitors.

Fed up residents

Locals protest against "overtourism" and block the road tunnel in the world-renowned sightseeing ... [+] town of Hallstatt in Upper Austria. The placards read: "Radical limits for mass tourism" and "Tourism, Yes. Mass tourism, No"

Overrun by tourists and fed up with housing shortages, traffic, noise, pollution and litter, a number of the most iconic destinations in Europe have become both unlivable for local residents and overcrowded, unsafe and uncomfortable for visitors. The beauty, serenity and simplicity of many of the most bucolic and sought-after destinations in Europe simply cannot survive millions of annual arrivals and are swapping their ‘come-to-us’ tourism campaigns for ‘tourists go home” strategies.

“Overtourism is putting pressure on health services, waste management, water supplies and housing at the expense of residents,” explains Euronews. “Increased construction of hotel and housing developments is endangering historic sites, biodiversity and natural resources.”

For the first time in the history of the archipelago, tens of thousands of residents of the eight Canary Islands united last month to protest against mass tourism. Their slogans included “The Canaries have a limit,” "People live here" and "We don't want to see our island die." The demonstrators are demanding an eco-tax, limits on tourist arrivals, a tourist moratorium and control of construction of tourism-related projects.

"The authorities must immediately stop this corrupt and destructive model that depletes the resources and makes the economy more precarious," Antonio Bullon, one of the protest leaders, told Reuters.

Crowds of tourists on Barcelona's Barceloneta beach

Unsustainable Tourism

The lists of places where locals like Binibecans are protesting against overtourism and demanding controls gets longer along with those at popular destinations including Venice, Barcelona, Santorini and Dubrovnik that are slashing the arrival of cruise ships and adding bans and fines to control tourists numbers and their behavior in beaches, museums, monuments and picturesque villages all over the continent.

The most recent indications of “anti-tourist” backlash are literal: a widening spread of graffiti messages, signs and posters by locals in tourist hotspots asking visitors to “Go Home,” sometimes in less-than-polite terms, forcing local officials to address the problem.

In many places, residents have resorted to placing fake “closed” signs in an attempt to deter tourists from popular locations.

From fake signs and outspoken graffiti to hunger strikes, residents at over-touristed places are pushing back.

An anti-tourism graffiti in Barcelona. Photo by Marc Asensio

Crowds of tourists on rue Sainte-Catherine shopping street in Bordeaux, France

Please don’t promote us

“While residents understand that tourism is vital for local economies, patience is wearing thin, and although tensions have always existed between locals and visitors, this appears to have become particularly pronounced recently,” writes the Daily Mail .

Athens has joined the many places in Spain where protesters are showing their discontent in harsh graffiti messages sprayed on walls across the city, demanding that "Tourists Go Home!,” and calling for “No Tourists, No Hipsters” and “Burn Airbnb.”

On the island of Santorini, limits have been placed on the number of cruise ships that can dock and Athen’s Acropolis will limit the number of visitors per day.

Croatia, one of Europe’s most popular summer destinations, has imposed road bans in a number of the most visited islands. Some won’t accept cars or bikes.

The situation has gotten so extreme that pretty villages and picturesque towns that lack infrastructure to respond to massive tourism are asking for their names to be removed from listings of the ‘most beautiful’ or ‘best’ destinations.

The visible effects of overtourism as cruise ship passengers crowd the walkway at the Doge's Palace ... [+] in Venice's Piazza San Marco

Demonstration in Barcelona

Spain has a problem

In Spain , the world's second most-visited country - the anti-tourist sentiment has been growing particularly strong.

The Canary islands are especially affected by uncontrolled tourism and discontent among the residents has been swelling to the point of protesters going on hunger strikes in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

In the Balearic islands, strict new alcohol laws seek to choke off ‘sun, sex and sangria’ tourism in Ibiza and Mallorca.

Fines for drinking in the streets go up to €1,500, holidaymakers at some of the most popular resorts are barred from buying alcohol between 9:30 p.m. and 8 a.m., and party boats will be prevented from operating within one nautical mile of certain areas.

Palma de Mallorca, the capital of the islsnd, became the first in Spain to ban Airbnb as part of tourism containment efforts, and similar measures have been implemented in other European locations.

Granada, Spain

In mainland protests are also loud:

“Malaga’s city’s centre has been hit with a wave of stickers, posted on walls and doors, telling visitors what residents think of them,” writes Euronews. “Walk the streets of Málaga and you’ll see these graffiti, ranging from the fairly mild ‘this used to be my home’ (antes esta era mi casa) and ‘this used to be the city center’ (antes esto era el centro) all the way to ‘go f*cking home’ (a tu puta casa) and ‘stinking of tourist’ (apestando a turista).’”

In the Costa del Sol, an anti-tourism campaign targeted rental cars and cars with U.K. license plates by slashing their tires and daubing them with graffiti.

In Granada, site of the historic Alhambra, the town is charging entrance fees and requiring reservations.

The beautiful city of San Sebastian plans to ban the construction of new hotels and vacation rentals to foster a more sustainable tourism approach.

Over-tourism in Florence

Images of nature are seen on a large screen on the top deck as emissions rise from the funnels of ... [+] the 'Sky Princess' cruise ship in Funchal, Madeira, Portugal. The ship carries up to 3,660 passengers. Photo by Richard Baker

Implementing limits all over

Some countries are opting for fees to enter their most iconic sites and increasing tourist taxes.

Italy, which is also among the five most-visited destinations in the world, has been implementing various bans and fees at the most sought-after tourist sites.

In Venice, visitors must pay a €5 fee to enter on peak weekends and other days between April and mid-July under a pilot program as officials try to discourage visitors from arriving on peak days.

The city has barred large cruise ships from anchoring in its historic center after UNESCO threatened to put the city on its endangered list.

Florence has banned short-term rentals in the city's historic center via platforms such as Airbnb, while famous Portofino, a well-known destination for influencers and celebrities, has introduced a €275 fine for loitering in selfie-taking hotspots.

Thousands of tourists visiting the old town of Prague in the Czech Republic

Crowds of tourists on a shopping street in the old town of Athens

In anticipation of the 2024 Olympics, the tourist tax on hotel rooms in Paris has increased by 200%, as of January 2024.

With a serious shortage of housing, officials are preparing to ban key boxes on the outside of buildings to discourage owners from listing their homes on Airbnb. the measure has already been applied in other French cities including Nice, Lille and Annecy.

In the southern Algarve region in Portugal, tourists risk fines ranging from €200 to €36,000 for anti-social behaviour such as playing loud music or camping outside campsites.

The list of bans and restrictions in Portugal that travelers may face at beaches include unauthorized ball games, camping outside campsites, fishing in bathing areas and overflight by aircraft below 1,000 feet, except for those intended for surveillance or rescue operations.

The Acropolis of Athens, the most visited monument of antiquity in Greece

The most visited Dutch city, Amsterdam, will no longer permit the construction of new hotels according to an official announcement last month. “The initiative aims to limit over tourism and restrict the number of hotel overnight stays to 20 million per year,” reports Schhengen,news .

Already in 2022 the city launched a “Stay Away” campaign to discourage tourists, particularly young British men, from planning drug- and alcohol-fueled parties.

It has also limited the use of cannabis to the Red-Light District and designed coffee shops to save residents from tourists who chose this city for drugs among others.

In Scotland, cruise ships will be charged a new tax to tackle the ‘twin challenges’ of emissions and over-tourism.

The overcrowded city of Dubrovnik in Croatia has introduced bans on sleeping in public areas, urinating in public spaces, climbing on top of monuments, drunk behavior, drinking alcohol near protected public spaces including schools, and drug-related offences, all of which are punishable with high fines and jail sentences.

Tourismphobia keeps growing

Local and national governments around Europe are under pressure to find solutions to mass tourism as local residents increasingly demand stronger restrictions and many times take their own measures.

Last summer, for example, activists put up false warning signs at beaches across Mallorca to keep English-speaking tourists away. Euronews reported that the posters warned of “dangerous jellyfish,” “falling rocks,” and “seawater polluted with sewage.”

“Others said the beach was closed with a ‘no swimming’ symbol below or warned that it takes hours to walk there despite the ocean being less than 100 meters away.”

A few small lines of text in Catalan underneath revealed to locals that the warnings weren’t real and that “the problem is mass tourism ” or that the “beach is open, except for foreigners and jellyfish.”

The World Tourism Organization predicts that by the end of this decade, the flow of international tourists will surpass an astounding two billion.

Crowds of tourists in the old town of Dubrovnik in Croatia.

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The Misunderstood Rise of Anti-Tourism in Europe

The dichotomy of different individuals’ experiences when a popular city surges with tourism is striking. For the vacationer, the experience is full of excitement: a chance to forget the tensions in their home city, visit the most scenic places in the world, meet the locals, and eat new foods. For the residents of the tourist city, recent sentiment suggests a completely different experience: a lack of housing, adequate infrastructure, and essential materials , as well as excessive pollution .

As a result, there has been a rise in protests across Europe by local residents of the most famous destinations in the world, including the Canary Islands, Malaga, Barcelona, Venice, and Amsterdam. Notably, in the midst of these protests and rising resentment towards tourists, data reveal that in the first quarter of 2024, international travel to Europe was 7.2 percent higher than it was before the pandemic, with a total of 120 million international visitors.

This situation presents an interesting crossroads: local residents want to decrease the volume of tourists traveling to their countries, but this volume is growing rapidly. Two stakeholders with conflicting incentives head towards an inevitable collision.

A Historical Perspective on Tourism

The history of tourism in Europe provides valuable insights into this phenomenon.

Historically, tourist cities wanted to incentivize as many tourists to visit as possible—after all, the more tourists, the more revenue. For example, Venice heavily promoted itself as a tourist destination, especially starting in the 1980s. Luxury hotels were developed and international festivals were held in the city to attract people from around the world. The same story is true for the Canary Islands. Dynamic digital ads disseminated across the United Kingdom, Germany, and other nations sought to attract more individuals to the Islands. Tourism was encouraged in European cities because it served as a major part of Europe’s economic activity, encompassing hotels, restaurants, guides, goods, and more.

In fact, for the Canary Islands , 35 percent of overall GDP and 40 percent of jobs in 2022 came directly from tourism and its related businesses, which contributed over 16.9 billion euros (about US$18.7 billion) in revenue that year. For the entirety of Spain, which has seen many “anti-tourism” protests, 12.8 percent of national GDP came from tourism in 2023. Similarly, tourism constituted 10.5 percent of Italy’s national GDP in 2023 and contributed 215 billion euros (about US$238 billion) to the economy. In Venice, 25,000 Venetians were employed in the tourism industry in 2020; for context, in 2020, only 51,208 Venetians lived in the historical heart of Venice, with 177,759 on the mainland.

If tourism bolsters the economies of many European countries, why are local residents protesting?

Protest Activity Before and After COVID-19

There are two different eras of protests with similar sentiments but different intensities: before and after COVID-19.

Before the pandemic, protests had already started in various regions in Europe, especially across Spain, as tourism flourished. One of the most notable protests took place in the Spanish island of Mallorca in August 2019 when a radical youth group called Arran vandalized rental cars by smashing windshields, cutting tires, and spray-painting the Catalan phrase “ tourism massiu o veïnes ” (“mass tourism or neighbors”) across cars. The rationale behind the protest was anger at tourists' complicity in pollution, as Arran blamed pollution problems on rental cars used by tourists. Prior to this protest, members of Arran chained themselves to the Gaudi sculpture in Barcelona to advocate for better conditions for local workers, who they believed were getting exploited and receiving extremely low pay.

Then, COVID-19 hit, momentarily halting tourist activity around the world. During the pandemic, European travel by non-European tourists decreased by around 70 percent. Many predicted that a lack of tourism during the pandemic would ruin the livelihood of many residents in tourist cities—World Travel and Tourism Council forecasted that millions of jobs would be lost. These predictions were not incorrect; from 2019 to 2020, 4.9 million jobs in tourism and travel were lost in Europe. However, an unexpected silver lining accompanied expected economic losses: the lack of tourism in Europe gave European residents the chance to experience their cities without constant tourism. In Venice , this pause allowed individuals to realize the benefits of a quieter life without mass tourism and its consequences, such as higher pollution. As one Venetian noted : “Here in Venice, of course, we felt it even more [than most places], because walking through the streets, through the squares, through Piazza San Marco without encountering a living soul…is certainly an extraordinary experience that has made us rediscover many things about this city and the dynamics of slowness.”

Since the world phased out isolationary measures, tourism in many European countries has not only recovered, but also surged past pre-pandemic levels. For example, Spain received 42.5 million tourists in the first six months of 2024, reflecting increases of 11.5 and 13.3 percent from the same six-month periods in 2019 and 2023, respectively. In Portugal, France, and Italy, international tourist arrivals in 2023 reflected increases of 12.1, 7.8, and 4.4 percent, respectively, from pre-pandemic 2019 levels.

In response, protests erupted again across Europe, most notably in Spain. Along with many other Spanish territories and regions, Cadiz and Lanzaraote joined in on the protests. In Cadiz, a new activist group called Cadiz Resiste even wrote a manifesto to explain its rationale and desires: “Cadiz Resiste was born from exhaustion, from contained rage in the face of a very palpable fact: [tourists] are stealing our city, our neighborhoods and businesses, the very possibility of making a life in Cadiz. What is at stake is our own identity.”  Similarly, in Barcelona last month, members of the protest group Assemblea de Barris pel Decreixement Turístic (Neighborhood Assembly for Tourism Degrowth) published a 13-point manifesto, which demanded restrictions on tourist hotels, cruise access, and tourism advertising. The highly organized, ideological nature of these protests suggest an increase in intensity from pre-pandemic examples.

Sources of Resentment

The overarching reasons behind the protests are similar across Europe: inaccessible housing, excessive pollution, scarce essential services and resources, and a general lack of adequate infrastructure.

On the housing front, two critical, complementary concerns have been voiced: the first is that housing is scarce and is slowly being converted to tourist accommodations, and the second is unaffordable rent. In Venice, reports indicate that there are now more tourist beds than local residents within the city. In Malaga , residents are being priced out of their long-term housing by their landlords, who seek to profit by converting the housing to short-term rentals; this situation has forced some local residents to begin living in their cars. Many of these individuals are essential workers —including teachers, healthcare providers, and police officers—who are responsible for the city operating efficiently. In Ibiza , one of the Balearic islands, the police force is struggling to retain enough officers because it is unable to attract new recruits due to a lack of housing. Even for individuals who are able to find housing, they often end up cramped with other roommates and having to pay rapidly growing rent.

In terms of pollution, residents have recently begun advocating for more sustainable practices that protect natural resources, the environment, local infrastructure, and historical sites. In Venice, demonstrators demanded a ban on the usage of loudspeakers to reduce noise pollution and stricter regulations of activity in the Grand Canal since large ships erode the foundations and cause pollution. These demands materialized , and the government implemented regulations to alleviate some of citizens’ concerns. However, these concerns persist throughout Europe. For example, for the 2024 Olympics in Paris, at least 9.5 million individuals purchased tickets to attend the Games in a city with only 11.3 million residents. Many local residents even planned to defecate in the Seine in protest of the river’s pollution, which has repeatedly been proven by bacterial tests. This protest was ultimately canceled after the announcement of snap elections, but it still evidences widespread anti-tourism grievances among locals.

Protestors have also argued that they are unable to sustain their livelihoods because of a lack of necessary stores and resources. In addition to a lack of essential services because of unaffordable housing for workers, residents often struggle to find stores that serve their needs. For example, in Malaga , locals cannot find hardware stores because these stores do not profit from tourism. Similarly, in Lanzarote , there is concern about the lack of water available for agriculture and, more importantly, consumption. The influx of tourists has incentivized the prioritization of tourist attractions and goods over the provision of necessary resources for permanent residents.

Protestors’ Desires and the Future

Many residents’ concerns are not a product of tourism, but rather of over-tourism. From a lack of housing to inaccessible services and resources , the issues do not seem to stem from the direct actions of individual tourists, but rather from locals’ objections to systematic changes to their communities designed to accommodate and profit from tourism. This sentiment has been expressed throughout the protests as residents in various cities argue for a more “ sustainable model ” of tourism and attempt to clarify that they are against the concept of “ deregulated mass tourism ,” not tourism in general.  

Though there are clear economic benefits from the tourism industry—as evidenced by the share of GDP for which tourism accounts in many regions and cities across Europe— protestors believe there is a level at which it becomes unsustainable, both in terms of depletion of critical resources and degradation of local residents’ standard of living. To many, that level has been reached.

In the face of growing demands, governments in Europe have attempted to curtail the discontent by implementing regulations. However, these policies sometimes do not yield the intended effects. In Venice , the government put a daily tax on visitors to limit over-tourism and to earn revenue. However, the residents collectively began to oppose the tax, claiming that the city tax converts Venice into an “amusement park” and arguing that the tax does not disincentivize anyone from visiting. More importantly, protestors are worried about the usage of the tax revenue and fear that it will be used to market the city and attract even more tourists instead of being used to alleviate the pressures plaguing residents on a daily basis.

The protestors want to implement effective changes to the government management style. Instead of their needs and preferences being considered after the wants of tourists, residents emphasize that their livelihoods should take priority in policymaking. Locals want tourism to benefit their own lives as well. In certain places, such change is gradually developing. Cities like Barcelona have begun cracking down on illegal short-term rentals, restricting large groups in certain areas, and removing some bus routes in order to protect elderly individuals. However, the process of effective change is slow: regulations change short-term actions, but shifting the culture of tourism is a long-term endeavor.

Given that tourists are increasingly fearful of traveling to certain cities because of the threat posed by protestors, governments are facing increased pressures to enact changes that consider residents’ needs.

Ultimately, locals’ grievances reflect not anti-tourism sentiment, but rather anti-management sentiment.

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