Quotas, mandatory reservations, variable prices: France takes action against overtourism

Hordes of tourists on Montmartre in Paris or Versailles, crowded beaches on the Basque coast... summer is in full swing in France, with its share of setbacks: at the seaside, in the countryside, and in the city, overcrowding is becoming a scourge for the most popular sites, threatening their future. Everyone suffers. Tourists themselves are disappointed by their visit, locals are fed up, nature is losing its rights, monuments are saturated...

Yet, visitor flows tirelessly concentrate on the same places. "Tourist presence perceived as excessive and harmful": the word overtourism has made its way into the 2025 edition of the Robert dictionary, so well-established is the phenomenon. According to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), 95% of travelers visit less than 5% of the planet. Despite the variety of its regions, France, the world's leading tourist destination with 100 million visitors...