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Economy

Merci Mickey! 20 Years Of ‘Euro Disney’ By The Numbers

Mickey Mouse muscled his way into the French tourism market in 1992 with the opening of Euro Disney. Now called Disneyland-Paris, the park is France's top tourism attraction and employs nearly 15,000 people. But not all are thrilled.

Ears to you Walt Disney (MagPhoto2011)
Ears to you Walt Disney (MagPhoto2011)


*NEWSBITES

PARIS -- No doubt the first thing that comes to mind for many when they think of Paris is the Eiffel Tower. Or maybe the Louvre. But when it comes to tourist revenue, neither can hold a candle to ‘Euro Disney," which has attracted a quarter billion visitors since opening its doors here 20 years ago. That's about the same number of paid customers the Eiffel Tower has received since its grand opening – in 1889.

Now called Disneyland-Paris, the amusement park is an almost exact replica of its namesake in Anaheim, California. There's nothing remotely French about it. Tant pis! People love it anyway. According to a study carried out by the research firm Setec, 15.7 million visited the park last year, making it France's number one tourist destination. The Louvre and Eiffel Tower, in contrast, drew some 8.8 million and 7.1 million paid visitors respectively.

Foreigners are particularly fond of the park – especially British, Dutch and German tourists. Together they have spent some 37 billion euros in France over the past two decades. But the French frequent Disneyland-Paris as well, accounting for roughly 42% of its customers.

Not everyone, however, is completely charmed by popular park. The Setec study estimates that the American venture has created some 55,000 direct and indirect jobs since its April 12, 1992 inauguration. But Mickey doesn't pay so well. Right now the park employs approximately 14,700 people, many as servers and shop clerks, who earn between 1,100 and 1,300 euros per month. And while Disneyland-Paris does pay taxes – roughly 5.33 billion euros worth over the past two decades – the bulk of its earnings go straight to Mickey's motherland, the United States.

Read more from Le Monde in French

Photo – MagPhoto2011

*Newsbites are digest items, not direct translations

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FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War

That Man In Mariupol: Is Putin Using A Body Double To Avoid Public Appearances?

Putin really is meeting with Xi in Moscow — we know that. But there are credible experts saying that the person who showed up in Mariupol the day before was someone else — the latest report that the Russian president uses a doppelganger for meetings and appearances.

screen grab of Putin in a dark down jacket

During the visit to Mariupol, the Presidential office only released screen grabs of a video

Russian President Press Office/TASS via ZUMA
Anna Akage

Have no doubt, the Vladimir Putin we’re seeing alongside Xi Jinping this week is the real Vladimir Putin. But it’s a question that is being asked after a range of credible experts have accused the Russian president of sending a body double for a high-profile visit this past weekend in the occupied Ukrainian city of Mariupol.

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Reports and conspiracy theories have circulated in the past about the Russian leader using a stand-in because of health or security issues. But the reaction to the Kremlin leader's trip to Mariupol is the first time that multiple credible sources — including those who’ve spent time with him in the past — have cast doubt on the identity of the man who showed up in the southeastern Ukrainian city that Russia took over last spring after a months-long siege.

Russian opposition politician Gennady Gudkov is among those who confidently claim that a Putin look-alike, or rather one of his look-alikes, was in the Ukrainian city.

"Now that there is a war going on, I don't rule out the possibility that someone strongly resembling or disguised as Putin is playing his role," Gudkov said.

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