Urban flight
The week's news at a glance.
Paris
Parisians disgusted by traffic and crime are fleeing the City of Light. Over the past decade, the population of the Paris metropolitan area dropped by nearly half a million, mostly because of people moving to the rural south. One southern district, Lot-et-Garonne, is trying to capitalize on the trend by offering relocation assistance. Lot-et-Garonne officials took out full-page newspaper ads declaring, “You have 15 days to leave Paris,” and thousands of Parisians called the hotline. “In Paris, people are always working, always tense, stressed, and frantic,” said one of the callers, Philippe Ginoux. He now plans to move to Lot-et-Garonne.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
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.
-
5 fairly vain cartoons about Vanity Fair’s interviews with Susie WilesCartoon Artists take on demolition derby, alcoholic personality, and more
-
Joanna Trollope: novelist who had a No. 1 bestseller with The Rector’s WifeIn the Spotlight Trollope found fame with intelligent novels about the dramas and dilemmas of modern women
-
Codeword: December 20, 2025The daily codeword puzzle from The Week