2024-10-19 08:51:00
The mayor of Marseille has this week presented some radical proposals on Airbnb rentals in his city — and when you look at the statistics he presented it’s pretty hard to argue with his plans.
He says 75% of Airbnb rentals in the city are owned by property developers who are “not from Marseille” and that the huge number of Airbnbs in the historic port city is causing a severe shortage of toilets.
His proposal is that anyone who wants to rent an apartment on Airbnb can do so, as long as they also offer another apartment for rent on a long-term contract, so that people can live there.
I have been guilty of using Airbnb myself on my visits to Marseille (one of my favorite French cities) and on my latest visit we found ourselves in a tiny studio apartment in an unfashionable part of the city – no complaints about the apartment, but it’s the sort of place that obviously should have been the home of a young man who was just starting his life with his first job. So where do people like that live in Marseille? Or in many other cities where tourists simply put them out of business?
Airbnb may have started out as a nice way for people to rent out their homes for a few weeks a year, but these days it’s basically a vacation rental business and needs to be regulated as such.
Love
It seemed like a strange idea when they announced ita musical based on the 1995 cult film La Haine, which deals with police violence, riots and alienation in France outskirts.
But I saw it last weekend and I can say it’s fantastic and has the same emotional power and humor as the original. It tells the same basic story – 24 hours in the life of three young people in a deprived suburb of Paris, whose friend is in hospital fighting for his life after being beaten by a police officer – with the addition of lots of music (mostly hip hop) and breakdancing, as well as some updates to the original story.
The slogan of the film is So far, so good (So far so good) and the play is marked So far nothing has changed (so far nothing has changed). Director Mathieu Kassovitz, who has a small role in the show, said the impetus for the revival was the deaths. like that of Nahel Merzoukthat sparked weeks of riots last summer.
The 1995 film tells the story of the death of a young black man at the hands of the police, and sure enough, almost 30 years later, very little has changed.
The show is on stage in Paris until January, then a tour in France is planned.
Announcement
Talking about France
This week’s Talking France podcast tackles the crucial issues of the budget and immigration law, as well as asking why Emmanuel Macron is worried about Emily in Paris, why Doliprane is giving the government headaches and why Ben isn’t getting invited to parties . Listen Here or on the link below.
Announcement
Secrets of the Underground
I also managed to sneak in my favorite Paris trivia, regarding the “ghost” metro station at Porte des Lilas.
In the images: The ghost stations of the Paris Metro
By the way, I recently came across the work of this French artist and I really liked the way he evoked the mood of the tired night subway traveler with this drawing.
“The woman of the last meter” A4, ink and watercolour. 🖋️🎨 #watercolor #aquarelle #encre #ink Poke @laurentpotelle.bsky.social 😅
— Touti Ouistiti (@toutiouistiti.bsky.social) October 14, 2024 at 10.27pm
#Apartments #Marseille #Haine #secrets #Paris