Ian Brossat wants to prohibit the purchase of secondary residences in Paris as it making it hard for the residents to keep their houses. The high number of tourists in Paris makes the French capital appears as an open-air museum. The high demand for residential houses in Paris has made it hard for the Parisians to own the property.Brossat who is vying for European parliament seat with the Communist party promises to make apartments available to Parisians by prohibiting Airbnb and other website renting the houses to foreigners. Airbnb and other websites have focused on tourist accommodation in Paris forcing the residents to vacate the capital.
There are over 60,000 apartments available for rent in the city, but the locals are unable to afford due to the high rental prices. Airbnb takes the opportunity of the unaffordable houses to the locals to rent out to foreigners and other visitors. Middle-class Parisians are unable to rent in the city which is currently occupied by Saudi and American billionaires. The prohibiting of house renting to short-term tourists will reduce rent prices making the locals to afford the apartments. The first to the fourth arrondissements of Paris should be occupied by the locals to conserve the Parisian culture. Paris is divided into twenty arrondissements where Brossat will ensure that the First, Second, Third and Fourth are occupied entirely by locals. The locals should be surrounding the popular sites of Paris which are Louvre museum and the Cathedral of Notre-Dame. The prohibiting of tourist rentals on the popular sites will make the locals enjoy the city for a smooth flow of community. The focus on the locals is an essential aspect in making it possible to accomplish the economic and social development goals.
Brossat aims at introducing laws that will make it possible for the locals to own apartments in the city. It is essential for the government officials to act on the rising number of visitors owning houses in Paris. The high number of short-term tourists will lead to the destruction of the cultural and valuable museum in the area to accommodate their needs. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has limited the number of rentals to tourists to 120 nights a year. The limitation will make the homeowners consider locals for their houses for a smooth flow of operations in the real estate industry. The directive is meant to reduce the number of tourists renting in Paris. Homeowners ignoring the policy are required to pay fines which increased to 1.38 million Euros from January to 15th August 2018 compared to 1.3 million for the whole of 2017. The crackdown will soon be used in Amsterdam, Barcelona, and Berlin which are cities with the high number of tourists.