Airbnb guests find decomposing corpse in garden of Paris house
Foul play suspected after woman's shoeless body is discovered during birthday celebrations
![paris-eiffel-tower.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/pE5jZrxGkpmK5kbnv7p5WN-415-80.jpg)
A birthday party at a house rented through accommodation website Airbnb was cut short when the guests discovered a decomposing corpse in the garden of the property.
The group of friends made the discovery on Saturday afternoon. The body was lying face-down in a hole at the edge of the garden, partially covered by trees.
They had rented the house in Palaiseau, ten miles south of Paris, for a weekend getaway to celebrate a 25th birthday. The seven-bedroom home was described in its Airbnb listing as a renovated 19th-century building with a swimming pool and a "lovely forest with a jogging trail" at the rear. It was at the edge of this woodland that they discovered the corpse, said to be in an advanced state of decomposition. The listing has now been removed from the website.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Police say the body is that of a woman aged between 30 and 50, clothed but with bare feet, and that the corpse could have been in the garden for several weeks. A source told Le Parisien that investigators suspect foul play.
Airbnb has come under fire previously for its marketplace model, which allows holidaymakers and property owners to bypass the traditional booking model. Critics say it allows renters to essentially operate as a business while skirting the insurance requirements and health and safety rules imposed on licensed hotels, leaving both owners and guests vulnerable.
Last year, the family of a man killed when a rope swing broke at an Airbnb rental property in Texas tried to raise awareness about the lack of inspections to ensure listed properties meet safety regulations or fire codes.
An Airbnb spokesman told the Huffington Post that hosts were expected to follow local rules and regulations and that the company issues a long list of advisory safety precautions. "Nothing is more important to us than safety," he said.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The manosphere: the shady online network of masculinists
The Explainer A new police report said a rise in radicalised young men is contributing to an increase in violence against women and girls
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
How can we fix tourism?
Today's Big Question Local protests over negative impact of ever-rising visitor numbers could change how we travel forever
By The Week UK Published
-
Simone Biles: Rising – an 'elegantly paced and vulnerable' portrait of the gymnast
The Week Recommends Netflix's four-part documentary is more than a 'riveting comeback story'
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
Iwao Hakamada: Japan's record-breaking death row prisoner
Under the Radar Former boxer spent 46 years condemned to execution but his retrial could clear his name
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
How strawberries are funding crime in Sweden
Under the Radar Police say illegal fruit sales turn over 'billions' of kronor a year for gangsters
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
France's 'swinger' capital rocked by fortune teller scandal
Under the Radar Mayor charged with corruption for 'lavishing' taxpayers' money on clairvoyant who 'impersonated' his dead father
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Trump hush money trial: what has the jury heard?
Today's Big Question Former loyal fixer Michael Cohen proves star witness for prosecution, but Stormy Daniels's graphic testimony could offer grounds for appeal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Weinstein's appeal: a blow to #MeToo
Talking Point Is 'shocking' reversal of symbolic conviction a sign of weakening movement?
By The Week UK Published
-
Do youth curfews work?
Today's big question Banning unaccompanied children from towns and cities is popular with some voters but is contentious politically
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Sydney mall attacker may have targeted women
Speed Read Police commissioner says gender of victims is 'area of interest' to investigators
By Julia O'Driscoll, The Week UK Published
-
Why are kidnappings in Nigeria on the rise again?
Today's Big Question Hundreds of children and displaced people are missing as kidnap-for-ransom 'bandits' return
By Julia O'Driscoll, The Week UK Published