As other Europeans revolt, how has France avoided protests against over-tourism?

Across parts of southern Europe, summer protests against over-tourism have become an annual fixture.

In almost 20 cities across Spain, Italy and Portugal this year, demonstrators gathered on June 15 to protest overwhelming visitor numbers that they say are degrading quality of life for locals. 

“Your wealth is our misery,” read a sign at a march that attracted thousands of people in the Mallorcan capital of Palma – the first of many planned across Spain this summer. 

A major complaint among the attendees was the deluge of tourist accommodation listed on sites such as Airbnb, driving up housing prices, forcing residents out of their neighbourhoods and hollowing out the very culture and communities that many visitors hope to experience. 

The result, protesters said, is a chasm between wealthy vacationers and locals employed in the tourism sector.

In addition, visitor carelessness and oversaturation at major attractions is causing the destruction of beloved sites, according to local advocacy group Menys Turisme, Més Vida (Less tourism, more life).

The Louvre has reported similar concerns. In January, a leaked memo written by the museum's director said the Louvre’s popularity was placing the centuries-old building under “physical strain” and endangering the precious artworks held inside. 

Staff at the world’s most-visited museum announced an unprecedented strike in June to protest "untenable" working conditions, including unmanageable crowds.

A total of 8.7 million people visited its galleries in 2024 – around twice the number it was designed for.

Read moreOverwhelmed Louvre workers strike to protest overtourism, shutting down world's most-visited museum

The figures reflect how France’s tourism numbers have bounced back to even higher rates than before the pandemic. 

A record 100 million visitors in 2024 made France the world’s top tourist destination, and experts predict it is on track to exceed these numbers in 2025. 

Spain placed a close second with 94 million visitors in 2024 – an influx that helped provoked renewed demonstrations against overtourism this year.

So why hasn’t the same backlash materialised in France? 

Locals ‘feel like they don’t count’ 

Part of the reason is that the two most-visited cities in each country – Paris and Barcelona – have historically had different relationships with tourism.

The French capital has a long-standing history of international visitors that can be traced back to the international fairs of the 1800’s and beyond, including the 1889 Exposition Universelle when the Eiffel Tower made its debut.

The result is a “certain level of tolerance” for tourism in the French capital even though there is a high concentration of visitors, says Stefan Hartman from the European Tourism Futures Institute. 

But in Barcelona, “there was essentially no tourism before the 1992 Olympics”, says Xavier Font, professor of sustainability marketing and specialist in tourism at the University of Surrey in the UK.

He says the intervening 40 years is “not that long” to allow the city to adjust to its new standing as a tourist mecca. In 2024, more than a third of all visitors to Spain went to Catalonia or the nearby Balearic Islands. 

Residents – particularly older generations who may remember how the city used to be – have been left reeling. 

“Tourism has become such a dominant part of the economy that locals feel like they don’t count anymore,” Font says. 

At the same time, two-thirds of tourism in Barcelona comes from international visitors, as opposed to domestic travellers, who Font says are “easier for residents to adjust to”.

Domestic travellers are likely to behave in similar ways as locals and speak the same language. 

They are also more likely to be repeat visitors or even second homeowners, often “going back to an area that they respect and cherish”, Font says. “Whereas first-time visitors tend to be less knowledgeable about a place. They don't really know what is typical, what is respectful and what's not.”

Figures indicate internal travel is higher in France, where domestic visitor spending was double that of international tourists in 2024, compared with Spain where the two figures were much closer to parity. 

‘Pressure on local communities’

Even so, the French capital is under similar pressure when it comes to accommodating vast visitor numbers – almost half of all annual tourists in France visit Paris, making it by far the country’s largest draw.

Institutions like the Louvre are clearly feeling the strain, but the city centre and residents are also offered some respite by popular attractions outside the city limits. 

With 14 million and 7 million annual visitors respectively, Disneyland Paris and the Chateau of Versailles attract two-thirds more visitors than the Louvre, driving a large portion of tourism outside the capital. 

And beyond Paris, tourism in France is generally “more dispersed”, Hartman says.

Visitors to Spain are most likely to collect in coastal areas where they can enjoy beach holidays or travel to Madrid, avoiding more inhospitable temperatures in the centre of the country. 

“Too much of the Spanish market is concentrated around the summer season,” Font says. “And the concept of the city break has massively increased the pressure on local communities.”

Tourists in France are more likely to target a diverse range of sites and activities throughout the year – including cities, summer seaside holidays, winter ski trips, and countryside visits to wine regions and heritage sites.   

Over-tourism is still a concern, especially in highly popular areas with limited capacity.

The French island of Porquerolles on the Côte d’Azur now limits visitor numbers to 6,000 people per day in a bid to protect the natural beauty spot.

The walled city of Saint-Malo in Brittany is trying to attract visitors throughout the year to ease the summer tourism peaks that have frustrated residents.  

But destinations throughout France seem to have – so far – avoided what Hartman describes as the “tipping point” of visitor pressure, when tourist numbers overwhelm the capacity of a location or exacerbate its vulnerabilities, igniting social action movements. 

By the time that happens, he says, “it’s too late”.

“Getting destinations back in balance requires a lot of resources and leadership to break profit-driven and often very strong systems supporting tourism development.”