-
Normandy rail strike: five lines disrupted this Friday and Saturday
Ticket inspectors walk out after a knife attack on a colleague, with four unions backing the action
-
French PM says diesel stockpile release will cut prices by up to 18 cents per litre
Sébastien Lecornu used televised speech to promise release of ten million barrels of diesel and address lycée protests
-
Temperatures to drop by 12C as first snowfall to hit Pyrenees and Alps
Storms to continue in the south
Macron has been boost for tourism
The wave of optimism that greeted Emmanuel Macron’s election as president has also seen a surge in the number of tourists, continuing the rise from the end of last year.
Sites such as Mont Saint-Michel have reported numbers up and theme park Futuroscope beat its historic record for a single day with 20,000 visitors for the Ascension holiday.
Importantly, good weather also gave a boost with Deloitte/ In Extenso research showing hotels in Paris and all round the coast seeing a rise in both international and leisure visitors.
Room revenues increased by up to 8% on average with the Côte d’Azur shaking off the effects of last year’s Nice terror attack to rise 10% on economy holidays and 22% for high-end.
Tourism industry analyst Didier Arno of Protourisme said President Macron had played a key role in being photographed at tourist hotspots such as the Louvre and meeting world leaders such as Vladimir Putin at Versailles to give a shining image “away from rain and floods, strikes and protests” as there had been in 2016.
