Letter from Paris: August 13, 2025 News Digest

The canicule (heat wave) returned to the city this week with extremely high temperatures. To cool off, Parisians are hanging out at Paris Plages, and swimming in the Seine. Since the city opened dedicated swimming areas in the river this summer, some 35,000 people have jumped in. Need some other ideas to get cool? Check out our article on how to survive a heat wave in Paris.

Did you hear about the 73-year-old newspaper vendor who’s been hawking daily papers in the Latin Quarter and St Germain districts for more than 50 years? President Emmanuel Macron is set to honor Ali Akbar, the last remaining newspaper vendor in Paris and a native of Pakistan, as a knight of the National Order of Merit. As reported by Reuters, the award “recognizes distinguished service to France in a civilian or military capacity.” Here’s his story: “Akbar began by hawking copies of the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo to students in the Sorbonne and neighbouring institutions. Kerb-side newspaper sellers were already a dying breed in Paris in the 1970s as television steadily replaced the printed word as the main source of news – a process that only accelerated with the advent of the internet. But Akbar…has managed to keep the tradition alive with his ready smile, cheeky sense of humour and sheer dedication.”

A man has been arrested for lighting a cigarette from the eternal flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. A video of this disrespectful act quickly spread on social media and ignited outrage across France. Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau wrote on social media: “This unworthy and deplorable act undermines the memory of those who died for France.” In court the man apologized for his stupidity and received a suspended sentence.

Luxury leather handbags have never been in such high demand. Jane Birkin’s original Hermès handbag shattered auction records when it sold for €8.6m in July. A recent Guardian article hones in on the €1m handbag heists hitting Paris. “A series of million-euro robberies of luxury handbags from boutiques and brand headquarters in Paris has shown that high-value leather goods are now a bigger target for organised criminals than jewels or cash, as French police pursue sophisticated gangs targeting designer bags.”

Exciting news from the Parc zoologique de Paris in Vincennes: fossa cubs, born in May, were recently unveiled to the public. To quote RFI (Radio France Internationale), this is “a rare event for one of Madagascar’s most elusive and endangered mammals. The births offer a small but important boost to conservation efforts for a species that few people have ever seen, and which is disappearing fast in the wild.” The animal is hard to spot in Madagascar, where scientists believe there are only 3,000 remaining.

Is Montmartre loved too much? That’s the question local residents are discussing as questions about “overtourism” flood the headlines. “With around 11 million visitors passing through its streets annually, the Parisian neighbourhood of Montmartre has long been a must-visit location for tourists in the city,” says France24. “However, with the narrow streets filling up with more tourists each year, locals are worried that they will soon lose their homes and their neighbourhood.” Check out the video below.