Montmartre still looks like the Paris people dream about. The crooked lanes. The artists. The view from the steps of the Sacré-Cœur.

But the numbers tell a different story. Around ten million people climb the hill every year. That works out to more than three hundred tourists for every single resident. The pressure on the neighborhood is now hard to ignore.

Locals speak of blocked streets, weekend crowds so thick it’s hard to reach a front door, and souvenir shops multiplying faster than bakeries.

The old “village on the hill” is slowly turning into a stage set. Even longtime Montmartrois say living there feels like sharing a home with thousands of strangers who never leave.

This tension has pushed the surtourism debate to the top of Paris politics. And for once, the loudest voices aren’t travel experts or tourism boards, they’re local elected officials who say the hill has reached its limit.

What Life on the Hill Looks Like Today

Walk through Montmartre on a Saturday and you understand why this fight is so heated. The steps of the basilica move at the pace of an airport security line.

Streets jam with walking tours led by guides shouting into portable speakers. Rows of souvenir stores, cafes, and candy stands stretch where basic local shops used to be.

The constant churn of suitcase wheels, selfie stops, and street performers never really stops. Residents compare it to living inside a theme park without an exit gate.

Many say social ties have weakened because people no longer know their neighbors. Everyday services shrink while short-term rentals expand.

And when almost every weekend brings the same wave, frustration rises fast.

The “Shock Plan” People Are Talking About

Two Green Party officials in the 18th arrondissement, Anne-Claire Boux and Émile Meunier, want a hard reset. Their proposal reads like a toolbox for slowing the constant flow.

One idea stands out immediately: removing Montmartre from the city’s list of International Tourist Zones. These zones give shops the right to open around the clock. For them, this nonstop activity fuels a permanent stream of crowds and noise.

They also want to ban the famous 2CV tourist cars, extend rules limiting tour buses, and introduce timed entry for visits to the Sacré-Cœur. This would work like the system now used at Notre-Dame.

Add stricter controls on short-term rentals, especially Airbnb, with more inspectors, and you get a picture of what they call a “shock plan.”

It’s bold and not everyone likes it. The district’s Socialist mayor says these proposals risk jobs. City Hall prefers softer regulation over bans.

On the right, politicians suggested giving Montmartre protected “heritage site” status to tighten architectural rules. That idea was dismissed too. Everyone agrees the hill needs help, but no one agrees on how far the city should go.

What Comes Next

The next few months will decide what direction Montmartre takes. The hill sits at the center of the municipal campaign, and every political camp is now forced to show its hand.

The Greens have pushed the debate into the spotlight by proposing strict controls. The district mayor is defending jobs and late-night commerce. City Hall is trying to keep the peace. And residents are demanding something concrete after years of feeling ignored.

What’s clear is that small tweaks won’t change the daily reality. The numbers are too heavy. Ten million visitors on a hill with narrow streets isn’t something you “manage” with a polite recommendation.

Any future plan will have to reshape how people move, where they gather, and how businesses operate. It will also need real enforcement, not symbolic rules that fade after a few weeks.

Montmartre’s future will depend on one simple decision: does Paris treat it as a neighborhood first, or a tourist zone that happens to have residents? The answer will define how the hill looks and feels for years.