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PARIS

‘Resilient’ Paris now a more appealing city than New York

The City of Light is a more appealing city to live and work in than the Big Apple, in fact it's the fourth most attractive city in the world, a result that even shocked the authors of the new study.

'Resilient' Paris now a more appealing city than New York
Photo: AFP

Paris has had a rough time recently and its economy has taken a hit as tourists turn their backs on the French capital due to terror fears.

But according to the latest “Cities of Opportunities” rankings by PwC, the entrepreneurs, business people, and anyone who fancies living and working in the French capital would all be wise not turn away from Paris.

The French capital ranked fourth overall in the new study – up two places on the previous 2014 table – behind London, Singapore and Thailand

New York fell from second to sixth place out of the 30 global cities included in the report, which looked in particular at education, transport, health, economies and quality of life.

And even the authors of the report seemed shocked that Paris could finish so highly, but pointed to its “resilience” being one of the “benefits of a great city”.

“The City of Light radiates as brightly as ever,” read the report describing Paris’s ranking as “the most genuinely surprising result in our report this year – given the serial horrors endured by the city in 2015.

“Despite the terror and pain it suffered, but resolutely resisted and survived in 2015, the City of Light remains as brilliant and lustrous and, therefore, as appealing as ever,” the report reads.

“The good ranking of Paris is not due to just a few good elements but to its very strong showing across all the criteria. Its consistent performance was unmatched, read the report.

Paris was the only city to rank in the top 10 in all but one of the  10 criteria which included: technological readiness, transportation and infrastructure, health, safety and security and ease of doing business.

The City of Light actually finished top in the demographics and livability indicator and was fourth in quality of life.

By finishing “fourth in quality of living—thus competing directly with the less “intense” and “mellower” cities of Stockholm, Sydney, and Toronto in that variable (#3, #2, and #1, respectively)—as opposed to London and New York, which finish #15 and #16, respectively, in a measure that is so central to every person’s understanding of “the good life.”

Paris was scored highly on its facilities and infrastructure for both tourists and business.

Paris was however let down by its lack of economic attractiveness, job creation and GDP growth.

It was also ranked fourth for in the criteria of most expensive cities for both households and businesses.

“That is to be expected in a city that—as with London—is in demand as a place to live,” says the report.

As for New York, sixth is the lowest it has been in the rankings. Part of the reason for the fall was the high cost of “taking a bit out of the Big Apple”.

“Part of New York’s weakening here is the result of other cities’ improvement…” the reprot said.

“That said, the city performs worse this year in half of the indicators—and only ranked in the top 10 in seven of them. Cost performance notably worsened as the city fell 16 places from the top 10 (#9) in 2014 to the bottom ten (#25) this year. Taking a bite out of the Big Apple proved an expensive taste.”

 

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PARIS

Fluffy nuisance: Outcry as Paris sends Invalides rabbits into exile

Efforts to relocate wild rabbits that are a common sight on the lawns of the historic Invalides memorial complex have provoked criticism from animal rights groups.

Fluffy nuisance: Outcry as Paris sends Invalides rabbits into exile

Tourists and Parisians have long been accustomed to the sight of wild rabbits frolicking around the lawns of Les Invalides, one of the French capital’s great landmarks.

But efforts are underway to relocate the fluffy animals, accused of damaging the gardens and drains around the giant edifice that houses Napoleon’s tomb, authorities said.

Police said that several dozen bunnies had been captured since late January and relocated to the private estate of Breau in the Seine-et-Marne region outside Paris, a move that has prompted an outcry from animal rights activists.

“Two operations have taken place since 25 January,” the police prefecture told AFP.

“Twenty-four healthy rabbits were captured on each occasion and released after vaccination” in Seine-et-Marne, the prefecture said.

Six more operations are scheduled to take place in the coming weeks.

Around 300 wild rabbits live around Les Invalides, according to estimates.

“The overpopulation on the site is leading to deteriorating living conditions and health risks,” the prefecture said.

Authorities estimate the cost of restoring the site, which has been damaged by the proliferation of underground galleries and the deterioration of gardens, pipes and flora, at €366,000.

Animal rights groups denounced the operation.

The Paris Animaux Zoopolis group said the rabbits were being subjected to “intense stress” or could be killed “under the guise of relocation”.

“A number of rabbits will die during capture and potentially during transport,” said the group, accusing authorities of being “opaque” about their methods.

The animal rights group also noted that Breau was home to the headquarters of the Seine-et-Marne hunting federation.

The police prefecture insisted that the animals would not be hunted.

In 2021, authorities classified the rabbits living in Paris as a nuisance but the order was reversed following an outcry from animal groups who have been pushing for a peaceful cohabitation with the animals.

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