Letter from Paris: February 11, 2026 News Digest

The Grand Palais, which recently emerged from a glorious restoration, has been on a roll staging impressive events, shows, not to mention the world’s biggest indoor ice skating rink. The latest dazzler? A rare showing of 30 monumental carpets commissioned by Louis XIV for the Grand Gallery of the Louvre palace. To quote the curators: “In 1668, as King Louis XIV prepared to make the Louvre his royal residence, he entrusted his First Painter, Charles Le Brun, with a bold and magnificent commission: the creation of 92 carpets, woven at the Savonnerie Manufactory, to adorn the floor of the palace’s most majestic gallery. Each carpet, nine meters wide, was meant to form a spectacular decorative ensemble, one of the most ambitious ever conceived for a royal palace.” Ooops, by the time the carpets were finished, the Sun King had moved to Versailles instead…. This sensational viewing only lasted one week, until last Sunday.

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Remember when we wrote about the last newspaper hawker in Paris? Ali Akbar Akbar was knighted by President Macron at the end of January. Originally from Pakistan, the 73-year-old Akbar received the Chevalier of the French Order of Merit at the Elysée Palace. As reported by RTÉ news, “the French president praised Mr Akbar’s “incredible destiny”, thanking the septuagenarian for arriving from Pakistan decades ago, selling newspapers for 50 years and carrying France in his heart. ‘Dear Ali, thank you for bringing political news to our terraces at the top of your lungs, for warming the hearts of the Flore, the Deux Magots, the Lipp brasserie,’ Mr Macron said in his speech… referring to some of the French capital’s iconic cafes.”

France has a budget! At long last, following months of gridlock, Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu’s minority government adopted a 2026 budget which Lecornu described as a “parliamentary compromise” which “curbs public spending” and “does not hike taxes for households and businesses.” (It was passed using special constitutional powers that bypassed a parliamentary vote.)  As explained by DW News, “Lecornu is the fourth prime minister in two years and has survived eight no-confidence votes initiated by the hard left and the far right.” What’s in the budget? The “deficit is to be reduced to 5% of gross domestic product. There will be higher taxes on some businesses, including an extra tax on large companies’ profits, which is expected to bring in around €7.3 billion ($8.6 billion) in 2026. The plan also boosts military spending by €6.5 billion, a move the premier last week described as the ‘heart’ of the budget.”

In other political news, France will open a consulate in Greenland to show support of Denmark following US efforts to take over the island. Canada will also open a diplomatic consulate in Greenland’s capital of Nuuk. As reported in the Associated Press, “France’s foreign ministry said Jean-Noël Poirier would take up duties as the country’s consul general, making it the first EU country to establish a consulate general in Greenland. Poirier would be ‘tasked with working to deepen existing cooperation projects with Greenland in the cultural, scientific and economic fields, while also strengthening political ties with the local authorities.’”

Oh, and there’s a mayoral race happening in Paris. There are six main candidates running to succeed Mayor Anne Hidalgo in the municipal elections on March 15 and 22. (Hidalgo is not running for reelection; she succeeded Bertrand Delanoë, who held the post from 2001-2014.) Paris City Hall has been under Socialist rule for some 25 years. Le Monde has a nice run-down of the candidates and their positions here; “Socialist Emmanuel Grégoire represents Paris’ incumbent majority and has taken on the role of Hidalgo’s heir apparent” while “on the right, Rachida Dati (Les Républicains) has positioned herself as the main opposition figure to the Socialist City Hall.”

The Guardian’s Angelique Chrisafis explains, “she was the first woman of north African and Muslim heritage to hold a major French government post and she redefined political celebrity in France…. seen by rivals as a dangerous rightwinger, others hope the controversial culture minister can snatch Paris from the left. Read the full article, “can Rachida Dati fend off scandal to become next mayor?”, here. 

Flying through Paris airports soon? You’ll be pleased to hear that the food offerings have significantly improved in recent years. In the latest move, Extime Food & Beverage has announced that Eataly, the famed Italian food hall, will be arriving at Orly airport (international terminal 4). This will be the second Eataly in France, after the popular one in the Marais district of Paris. Billed as “an ambassador of Italian gastronomy worldwide,” Eataly’s Orly location will offer authentic Italian classics like pizzas by the slice, spaccata, gourmet paninis, salads, and desserts like tiramisu and bombolone.