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Registrations for Pope Leo XIV’s France visit open on August 10
Visit will include private meeting with victims of Church sexual abuse
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New sanctions for unauthorised dog and cat sales in France
Pet shops face fines of up to €1,500 per animal if breaching rules
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Storms to hit France: exceptionally long period of heat to continue
Winds of up to 100km/h expected in localised areas in the south and south-west
Asian visitors boost French tourism
A surge in visitors from Asia helped France retain its crown as the most-visited country in the world in 2018, new figures show.
The 7.4% rise in tourists from Asia swelled visitor numbers to 89.4million – a 3.3% increase on 2017 – generating revenue of €56.2billion
Visitors from India alone jumped 16%, while Japanese tourist numbers rose 11%, despite negative end-of-year international headlines sparked by the gilets jaunes.
The protest movement has been blamed in part for a 5.6% drop in hotel stays in the first two months of this year.