Is one of the most beautiful cities in the world emptying out? The question is asked by the French newspaper Le Figaro, obviously referring to Paris and also indicating an alleged culprit: airbnb. According to official data, the newspaper claims, the inhabitants of the transalpine capital have passed from 2.234.105 to 2.220.445 in the five years between 2009 and 2014: a drop that the Municipality does not deem excessive but which in any case corresponds to a loss of 13.660 inhabitants.
Coincidentally, however, the five-year period examined is that of the boom of Airbnb, the platform that allows apartments to be rented occasionally as holiday homes for tourists, thus leaving them vacant for residents. Is there a link between the two phenomena? “Certainly yes – claims Jean-François Legaret, president of the town hall of the 1st arrondissement, that is the center of Paris which alone has lost almost 900 inhabitants (-5%) – and it is even more scandalous if we consider that some also exploit this business on social housing".
In fact, according to what has been reconstructed by Le Figaro, since 2009, according to data recognized by the Mairie de Paris, 20 apartments have been converted into tourist accommodation. What to destroy, according to some, even the local economy: last August the teachers' union denounced the closure of four classes of nursery and primary schools, due to lack of pupils.
Another triggering reason is in fact the low birth rate, decreased by 2010% from 2013 to 8 according to data from Insee, the French Istat, for three main reasons: the aging of the population, a slight drop in fertility and the level of study and professional objectives of Parisian girls , which therefore tend to postpone the arrival of motherhood.
Airbnb, for its part, rejects the accusations: "Airbnb is a good thing for tourism but also for the inhabitants themselves - defends the platform -, who seek solutions to round off their budget and thus be able to afford to stay and live in a big city such as Paris: over 40% of Parisian hosts say that the revenues obtained from this activity allow them to maintain a sufficient budget for such an expensive city”. Airbnb also claims that there are over 100 vacant apartments in Paris alone, so much so that the municipality itself wants to impose a surcharge on both vacant homes and second homes, in order to boost rents.
