New beginnings
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Nuit Blanche

Two high-profile events in 2002 launched Paris's new image. Despite mayor Bertrand Delanoë's vilification following the closure of the riverside quais in the previous year, a three-kilometre length of the riverbank was boldly turned into a public beach between 21 July and 18 August. Dubbed Paris Plage ("Paris beach"), the scene was complete right down to palm trees, deckchairs and 150 tonnes of sand – the only thing missing was the chance to take a dip in the river. With over half a million people visiting on the first day it is set to become an annual event.

The next landmark event was October's Nuit Blanche ("sleepless night"), in which hundreds of galleries, museums, bars, restaurants and public buildings remained open for a citywide all-night party of poetry readings, live music and performance art. The event was an enormous success for everyone except Delanoë himself: while attending the town hall's own champagne party, he was stabbed in the stomach by a man in the crowd, putting him in Paris's Pitié-Salpetrière hospital for a week.

Less glamorous and more important measures have run into trouble. In summer 2001, bus and cycle lanes were successfully installed along the central boulevards Rivoli and Sebastopol. Since then, however, some 40km of planned routes have been delayed by arguments with right-wing neighbourhood associations, police, lawyers and even with the planning commission, which judged the lane separators as "unaesthetic". Conservative opposition to traffic control is a given, but Delanoë is now being attacked by the green groups that initially supported him. Faced with the apparent success of London's congestion charge, he has been accused of taking the soft option. Major schemes such as the ring-road tramway, due to be started in 2006, and the creation of a residents-only traffic zone in central Paris, are looking increasingly unlikely. On the bright side for visitors, it does seem that Paris's taxi system will get a much-needed revamp. Since World War II, the total number of taxis has remained almost stable at just under 15,000, and many taxi drivers insist on their union-regulated working hours – which means three-hour lunch breaks and not working after 7pm. If it can be forced past the union, 1500 new taxi licences will be issued, and the sacred lunch hour will become a thing of the past.

Transport may be an irritation, but high rents are to blame for the flight of residents from Paris "intra-muros" to the suburbs. Intent on preventing the "museumification" of Paris, the mairie has started to buy up private apartment buildings in central Paris, to be rented out as social housing. However, at a rate of 3500 apartments a year, it's unlikely that this can turn around Paris's major trend of falling population. While Paris remains one of the developed world's most densely populated cities – double the density of Tokyo – the number of people living in the central arrondissements halved over the course of the twentieth century. The population is still dropping, though the rate of change has slowed in the last twenty years.

On the national level, one of Chirac's first measures was a devolution bill, giving more power to 26 regional assemblies and ending the domination of central government from Paris dating from the time of the 1789 revolution. The measure represents a major U-turn for the Gaullists, who have always been staunchly against any devolution of power. In addition, Chirac has responded to popular fears over rising crime by increasing the number of police officers – a move matched by Delanoë, who has promised 1000 new police officers on Paris's streets. Chirac has also pledged more prison places for young offenders and subsidies to help the unemployed find work – all this while promising to cut income tax. With economic growth down, finding the extra cash to pay for these measures won't be easy.

With such a large majority, the national government seemed to have a real chance to enact much needed unpopular reforms, such as reviewing the creaky pension system and health care provision. But whether Chirac will grasp the nettle remains to be seen. His prime minister, the unassuming Jean-Pierre Raffarin, is from the provinces, unconnected with the Parisian elite, but his low-key, softly softly approach may not be effective. State pension reform has been predictably unpopular, with 100,000 state workers marching on the streets of Paris in April 2003 – much the same reaction as forced the government to drop similar plans last time round in 1995.

In the first half of 2003, the domestic political agenda was overshadowed by economic problems – growth targets have been halved, and France's budget deficit has shot past the 3 percent ceiling imposed on euro-zone countries – and international diplomacy over the war on Iraq. Chirac's threat to use France's UN Security Council veto proved as popular at home as it was derided in the US. It was even argued that France's almost five million-strong Muslim population, the largest in Western Europe, influenced the French government's position – though Muslim feelings didn't seem to prevent the government banning headscarves on ID photos, provoking yet another row on the subject. Throughout France, Chirac was feted for "standing up to the Americans", and the actions of the US government were widely caricatured as bullying, aggressive and imperialist. But as recession looms ever larger in France, Paris's vital tourist industry now faces the prospect of many Americans choosing to holiday at home – or at least not in France. Perhaps the prospect of a bid to host the 2012 olympic games will provide the city with a new focus and source of energy.