PARIS — Just in time for New Year’s Eve, a new decree from France: Let them dance ’til dawn.
Despite France’s reputation for bon vivants sipping champagne until the wee hours, aficionados have been complaining that nightlife, especially in Paris, is in decline.
An Internet petition warns that the City of Light has become “Europe’s capital of sleep” — and complains that musicians, DJs and partyers are heading instead to London, Barcelona, Prague and Berlin.
In a bid to bring them back, the government proclaimed last weekend that dance clubs across France can now stay open until 7 a.m.
For some partyers, it’s a matter of economics.
“This way we can get our money’s worth from the cover charges,” said Elodie Bari, a 24-year-old preparing to spend New Year’s Eve at the massive Macumba club near France’s border with Switzerland.
The Internet petition, launched in October, asks authorities for clearer legislation — and subsidies for soundproofing.
