Letter from Paris: July 23, 2025 News Digest

The Paris metro is celebrating 125 years! On July 19, 1900, after 17 months of construction, the first line of the Paris metro, connecting the Porte de Vincennes and the Porte Maillot, welcomed passengers. This new infrastructure, a symbol of modernity, ushered in a revolution in transportation. To this day it’s a beloved system— functional and efficient — that’s continuing to expand with the Grand Paris Express project. (The line 14, extended to connect the city center with Orly Airport, is one such example.) At Bonjour Paris, we can’t help but compose odes in the metro’s honor, particularly its design (like Hector Guimard’s metro entrances) and aesthetic details, as chronicled in Meredith Mullins’ Metro Magic series.

Notre Dame has announced that the towers are on track to open for public visits in September, following restoration work on the south tower. This tower was not touched by the fire, but work was needed on the belfry and roof. The cathedral’s south tower houses two bells: the large Emmanuel bell (13.3 tons), dating from 1686, and the Marie bell (6.2 tons), added in 2013 on the occasion of the cathedral’s 850th anniversary. The guided visits of the towers are organized by the Centre des Monuments Nationaux (CMN).

The Moulin Rouge’s iconic windmill is turning again after a dramatic collapse in April last year. Dancers performed the cancan in the street to celebrate the restoration. As reported by the Guardian’s Jon Henley, “In a profusion of red feathers, members of the Montmartre institution’s 90-strong troupe performed its signature dance on the road outside to mark the occasion … after the second of two daily performances that draw 600,000 visitors a year.”

It’s festival season in Paris, with a whole slew of entertaining events, from Solidays and We Love Green to Rock en Seine and Jazz in the Parc Floral. There’s even a Lollapalooza Paris, which returned to the Hippodrome de Longchamp on July 18 with Olivia Rodrigo and Benson Boone electrifying the audiences. As reported by Le Monde, “Founded in 1991 in Chicago, Illinois, by former Jane’s Addiction singer Perry Farrell, the Lollapalooza festival initially served as a platform for the anguished distortions of rock of that era. It later became a touring festival and then an international event, with a Paris edition launched in 2017, now run by production giant Live Nation. Lollapalooza has since catered to audiences raised on urban pop infused with rap, electro and R’n’B.”

Remember those epic beach volleyball matches at the Eiffel Tower during the 2024 Summer Olympics? Good news: Beach volleyball is returning to Paris next weekend with a sporty extravaganza. Taking place from Friday 25 to Sunday 27 July 2025, the FIVB, in partnership with the City of Paris and the French Volleyball Federation (FFvolley), is hosting a three-day celebration of beach volleyball at the Hotel de Ville. Volleyball courts will be set up, and visitors can partake in casual matches and experience fun, volleyball-themed activities.

A new wall mural in northern Paris is celebrating iconic figure Josephine Baker — the American entertainer who became a French Resistance fighter now buried in the Pantheon. As reported by the Associated Press, “The mural of Baker, meant to symbolize freedom and resistance, is among several painted in recent days in the neighborhood and organized by the association Paris Colors Ourq. The artist FKDL said he focuses on ‘’bringing women back into the urban landscape.” The new mural is located next to L’Atalante restaurant at 26, quai de la Marne, in the 19th arrondissement.

The Birkin bag goes big! Jane Birkin’s original Hermès handbag, used for nine years by the famous British singer-actor, shattered auction records when it sold for €8.6m in July. As reported by the Guardian, it’s “the most expensive fashion accessory ever sold at auction in Europe,” and “still bears traces of the stickers [Birkin] put on its black leather.” To recap the event: “bidding opened at Sotheby’s at €1m, drawing gasps from the room, and rose swiftly during a 10-minute battle between nine collectors, some bidding by phone and online.” A private collector from Japan secured the winning bid.

In political news, Prime Minister François Bayrou has unveiled a plan for €43.8 billion in spending cuts to help mitigate the budget crisis. A proposal includes cutting civil service jobs, capping tax breaks for the wealthy, and abolishing two national holidays, Easter Monday and May 8, which commemorates the surrender of Nazi Germany and the end of WWII in 1945. As reported by France 24, Bayrou recently gave a speech about the dangers of debt, warning that it’s “increasing by €5,000 every second.”