Letter from Paris: April 15, 2026 News Digest

The Catacombs reopened on April 8 after an important restoration project. Situated 20 meters below the city in former quarries in the 14th arrondissement, the Catacombs is home to the famous ossuary with bones stacked in walls. It’s an incredibly fragile site, and the restoration, which began in 2023 and fully closed it in November 2025, has carefully preserved its architectural heritage via new technical systems and lighting. There’s also a new tourist circuit, audioguide, and temporary exhibitions.

The 49th edition of the Schneider Electric Marathon de Paris took place on Sunday, and 58,853 runners from around the world participated. 49% were running their first marathon! A total of €8.5 million was raised by 8,500 runners for more than 300 charities. Italy’s Yemaneberhan Crippa (29) clinched the victory in 2hr 05min 19sec, while Ethiopia’s Shure Demise (30) won the women’s race in a new course record of 2hr 18min 35sec – more than a minute faster than the previous record. Nearly 200,000 spectators lined up along the course to cheer them on.

Céline Dion recently announced her comeback after a six-year break with a series of Paris concerts. As reported by rfi, “Quebec-born star Céline Dion took over the Eiffel Tower with the broadcast of a special message… The mega star said she would perform [16] concerts exclusively in France to celebrate her 58th birthday in September.” The sold-out shows will take place at La Defense Arena, the largest concert venue in Europe. Some 480,000 tickets were sold in a matter of four days.

Speaking of the Eiffel Tower, a piece of the famous landmark will go up for auction at Artcurial next month. An 137-year-old piece of the original staircase is expected to fetch between 120,000 and 150,000 euros. As reported by The New York Times, “the Eiffel Tower once featured a spiral staircase that provided access from the second level to the summit. In 1983, as part of a modernization project, workers dismantled the stairs to install elevators. The staircase was divided into 24 pieces, of which four were donated to museums and 20 sold at auctions. This particular section, which is currently owned by an unidentified French businessman, was put back on the market to be resold next month.”

The Parc de la Villette is reinventing itself with a new urban farm in the southeastern section of the park near the Little Villette children’s area. Le Monde describes this transformation as a restoration of biodiversity and an adaptation to climate change: “Forty years after its inauguration by François Mitterrand, the green lung of Northeast Paris is being transformed into a living laboratory where animals, plants and children coexist.” The new space, encompassing 15,000 square meters, was inaugurated on March 28, and is planted with a kaleidoscope of landscapes including meadows, gardens, and groves — a different approach than the original design of sprawling lawns.

Recently Iran freed a French couple who spent more than three years in a notorious Iranian prison on espionage charges. Traveling as tourists in May 2022, Cecile Kohler, 41, and Jacques Paris, 72 were arrested on spying charges and detained in Tehran’s Evin prison. They’ve been held under house arrest at the French capital since November, when they were freed. As reported by France 24, “The green light for them to leave Iran, long sought by France, signaled how Iran is differentiating between nations, treating some favorably and others as foes, in the context of the Iran war. Macron has distanced France from the conflict, saying his country wasn’t consulted in advance about the US-Israel strikes and didn’t want the war.”