Latest news with #Bastille
LeMonde
a day ago
- Business
- LeMonde
'France's cultural heritage is becoming fashionable and useful, but the state can no longer foot the bill alone'
In 2022, when she was France's minister of culture, Roselyne Bachelot slammed her fist on the table. "We no longer know how to build things solidly!" she exclaimed. She was fuming about the repeated fortunes that must be spent to renovate museums or performance halls. Now, several of Paris's cultural giants face staggering renovation costs. Yet these costs signal an exciting shift for France's cultural heritage. The figures are dizzying: €469 million for the Centre Pompidou, which will close in September for five years. The Grand Palais reopens on June 6 after €500 million in renovations. The Louvre is set to break the bank with €900 million. Versailles? €588 million between 2003 and 2032. Add another €556 million by 2036 for the Garnier and Bastille operas. In January, the Court of Accounts, France's public audit office, also flagged the €638 million spent on renovating the Maison de la Radio, the headquarters of Radio France. The list could go on. One could mention the 87 cathedrals owned by the state, including the one in Nantes, which reopens in September after a fire and a €32 million restoration. Or the Clairvaux Abbey, in the Champagne region, where the Ministry of Culture has "invested" €60 million in the grand cloister. Costs in the heritage sector escalate quickly, but the state must keep up and lead by example to remain credible. For decades, when it was the owner, the state paid the bills alone. But it can no longer do so. Needs have grown alongside costs. More recent buildings are more fragile. The hundreds built in the 1980s and 1990s during the era when François Mitterand was president now require care. The darling of the recovery plan A new policy is taking shape. A handful of prestigious institutions must now contribute financially. The division of labor is revealing. The state pays for the unglamorous and less visible parts (asbestos removal, compliance, waterproofing), while the institution covers the more prestigious elements (public spaces, artistic programming) through ticket sales, sponsors, advertising banners, and by leveraging its brand.
The Independent
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Two dead in Paris following PSG's Champions League triumph
Two people died and over 500 were arrested in France after disorder broke out during Champions League final celebrations following Paris St Germain's win against Inter Milan. The French interior ministry reported 192 injuries and 692 fires, including 264 involving vehicles, with 559 arrests made as of Sunday morning, 491 of which were in Paris. Celebrations erupted across Paris after PSG's 5-0 victory, with fans gathering at the Parc des Princes stadium, the Eiffel Tower, and the Place de la Bastille, but skirmishes with police occurred. PSG forward Ousmane Dembélé urged fans to celebrate responsibly, saying, "Let's celebrate but without breaking everything in Paris." Security was tightened with 5,400 police officers deployed in anticipation of post-match violence, and previous PSG victories have also been marred by clashes and arrests.
Eater
7 days ago
- Business
- Eater
How Our New Concept Brought In 30 Percent More Guests
A version of this post originally appeared on May 28, 2025, in Eater and Punch's newsletter Pre Shift , a biweekly newsletter for the industry pro that sources first-person accounts from the bar and restaurant world. This send is the second of a four-part series on restaurant growth, presented by Square . Organize all your orders — dine-in, online, and third-party — and fulfill them in a flash, right from your POS . Subscribe now for more stories like this. Sabine, according to operating partner Rich Fox Where: Seattle The growth: In March 2020, James Weimann and Deming Maclise of Yes Parade Restaurant Group closed their 11-year-old bistro, Bastille. In October, they converted the space into Sabine, a counter-service cafe and bakery. Its scope has since expanded with the addition of a bar and table-service dinner from Tuesday to Sunday. In March, the restaurant group announced a forthcoming second location. Here, Rich Fox, one of the operating partners of Sabine, explains why the pandemic was the right time to shift the business model. Increase in daily guest count from 2019: 31 percent, with a similar increase in sales revenue On closing Bastille When the pandemic hit, some [of our] restaurants lent to the [new operating conditions] much easier than others in terms of going takeout-only or outdoor-only. The feeling with Bastille was that the menu presentation and dynamic would have been harder to shift. Independent of the pandemic, there was also the feeling that Bastille had maybe run its course. The idea of shutting down and changing the concept during that time was easier than it would have been previously. On updating the concept We had to take out a big portion of the seating to build the coffee counter. The inside space lost about 24 seats, but at the same time, we had a 'streetery' that added back all of those seats and more. We're replacing that with a street cafe, so when all is said and done, we'll probably net out at the same number of seats. Bastille was a dinner house and very wine-forward; the check average was high. [At] Sabine, being more of a coffee counter, our check average is smaller but our volume is higher. We're actually open more hours. We're open from 8 in the morning until at least 10 at night, five days a week. On counter service Initially during the pandemic, we didn't know from one minute to the next what the city or state was going to hand us. Having really limited counter-service staff was a huge asset in the beginning compared to the restaurants that were full-service. It makes hiring easier, first of all, and you can lean into the staff that you have and really work on those relationships. On expanding It came earlier than expected. It was born from having a great relationship with the building owner and their willingness to work with us on a landlord-tenant deal that made sense for all of the worries we have right now. Part of what made us feel good is counter service: That model does make the overhead less. Between the work our chef has done, our coffee program, and our bar, we felt we had a unique concept that had not been replicated, at least locally. On flexibility There are places [within the restaurant group] where we tried counter service, and for us, it didn't seem like an advantage based on the concept. We have only one other location that switched that's still doing counter service today and that's a place in Leavenworth, outside of Seattle. There are other restaurants where it felt better for us and for our style of service to go back to full service. It's very subjective, but for Sabine, it's been wonderful.
CBS News
17-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Paris reveals memorial to LGBTQ victims of Nazi regime and other persecutions
A memorial to the long-ignored gay victims of the Nazi regime and to all LGBTQ+ people persecuted throughout history has been unveiled in Paris on Saturday. The monument, a massive steel star designed by French artist Jean-Luc Verna, is located at the heart of Paris, in public gardens close to the Bastille Plaza. It aims to fulfill a duty to remember and to fight discrimination, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said. "Historical recognition means saying 'this happened' and 'we don't want it to happen again,'" Hidalgo said. Describing the sculpture that looks like a big star wand lying on the ground, Verna, a visual artist who also is a LGBTQ+ rights activist, said : "There's a black side in front of us, forcing us to remember. ... At certain times of the day, it casts a long shadow on the ground, evoking the dangers looming over, sadly." The other side of the star, silvery, reflects the sky. It represents "the color of time passing, with the Paris sky moving as quickly as public opinion, which can change at any moment," Verna said. French artist Jean-Luc Verna speaks to media during the inauguration of his sculpture, a memorial to the long-ignored gay victims of the Nazi regime and to all LGBTQ+ people persecuted throughout history, in Paris, Saturday, May 17, 2025. Christophe Ena / AP Historians estimate between 5,000 and 15,000 people were deported throughout Europe by the Nazi regime during World War II because they were gay. Jacques Chirac in 2005 was the first president in France to recognize these crimes, acknowledging LGBTQ+ people have been "hunted down, arrested and deported." Jean-Luc Roméro, deputy mayor of Paris and a longtime LGBTQ+ rights activist, said "we didn't know, unfortunately, that this monument would be inaugurated at one of the worst moments we're going through right now." Referring to policies of U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, Romero said "we've never experienced such setback in the United States, with what's happening to trans people." Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has issued orders to recognize people as being only man or woman, keep transgender girls and women out of sports competitions for women, oust transgender military troops, restrict federal funding for gender-affirming care for transgender people under age 19 and threaten research funding for institutions that provide the care. All the efforts are being challenged in court. In Europe, Hungary's parliament passed this year an amendment to the constitution that allows the government to ban public events by LGBTQ+ communities, a decision that legal scholars and critics have called another step toward authoritarianism by the populist government.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Paris unveils a memorial to LGBTQ+ victims of Nazi regime and other persecutions
PARIS (AP) — A memorial to the long-ignored gay victims of the Nazi regime and to all LGBTQ+ people persecuted throughout history has been unveiled in Paris on Saturday. The monument, a massive steel star designed by French artist Jean-Luc Verna, is located at the heart of Paris, in public gardens close to the Bastille Plaza. It aims to fulfill a duty to remember and to fight discrimination, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said. 'Historical recognition means saying 'this happened' and 'we don't want it to happen again,'' Hidalgo said. Describing the sculpture that looks like a big star wand lying on the ground, Verna, a visual artist who also is a LGBTQ+ rights activist, said : 'There's a black side in front of us, forcing us to remember. ... At certain times of the day, it casts a long shadow on the ground, evoking the dangers looming over, sadly.' The other side of the star, silvery, reflects the sky. It represents 'the color of time passing, with the Paris sky moving as quickly as public opinion, which can change at any moment," Verna said. Historians estimate between 5,000 and 15,000 people were deported throughout Europe by the Nazi regime during World War II because they were gay. Jacques Chirac in 2005 was the first president in France to recognize these crimes, acknowledging LGBTQ+ people have been 'hunted down, arrested and deported.' Jean-Luc Roméro, deputy mayor of Paris and a longtime LGBTQ+ rights activist, said 'we didn't know, unfortunately, that this monument would be inaugurated at one of the worst moments we're going through right now." Referring to policies of U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, Romero said 'we've never experienced such setback in the United States, with what's happening to trans people.' Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has issued orders to recognize people as being only man or woman, keep transgender girls and women out of sports competitions for women, oust transgender military troops, restrict federal funding for gender-affirming care for transgender people under age 19 and threaten research funding for institutions that provide the care. All the efforts are being challenged in court. In Europe, Hungary's parliament passed this year an amendment to the constitution that allows the government to ban public events by LGBTQ+ communities, a decision that legal scholars and critics have called another step toward authoritarianism by the populist government.
