Paris residents are fighting overtourism and “disneyfication” of beloved Montmartre neighborhood, Euronews reports.

The French capital welcomed 48.7 million tourists in 2024, and residents say visitor numbers are taking their toll.

When Olivier Baroin moved into an apartment in Montmartre about 15 years ago, it felt like he was living in a village in the heart of Paris. Not anymore.

Stores for residents are disappearing, along with the friendly atmosphere, he says. In their place are hordes of people taking selfies, shops selling tourist trinkets, and cafés whose seating spills into the narrow, cobbled streets as overtourism takes its toll.

Baroin has had enough. He put his apartment up for sale after local streets were designated pedestrian-only while accommodating the growing number of visitors.

Some residents in one of Paris' most popular tourist neighborhoods are now pushing back. A black banner strung between two balconies in Montmartre reads, in English: “Behind the postcard: locals mistreated by the Mayor.” Another, in French, says: “Montmartre residents resisting.”

Atop the hill where the Basilica of Sacre-Cœur crowns the city's skyline, residents lament what they call the “Disneyfication” of the once-bohemian slice of Paris. The basilica says it now attracts up to 11 million people a year, even more than the Eiffel Tower, while daily life in the neighborhood has been overtaken by tuk-tuks, tour groups, photo queues, and short-term rentals.

“Now, there are no more shops at all, there are no more food shops, so everything must be delivered,” said 56-year-old Baroin, a member of a residents' protest group called Vivre a Montmartre, or Living in Montmartre.

This is proposing limited activities: a limit of 25 people per groups, a ban on loudspeakers, and an increase in the tourist tax.

In addition, real estate prices in Montmartre have increased by 19% in the last decade, and the city has reduced the maximum rental period for basic apartments through platforms like Airbnb from 120 to 90 days per year.

The resistance in Montmartre reflects a broader European trend: similar protests and events have been seen in Venice, Barcelona, and Athens, where entry restrictions, tourist crowds, and short-term rental regulations have been introduced.