Fabrice Pierret is used to catering to hordes of tourists who pack Le Lutétia, a brasserie he manages on the Île Saint-Louis, where a splendid view of the Seine River, with a glass of red wine and steak frites, has long made it a popular stop for visitors.
But with the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics just days away, the crowds have thinned to a trickle. Business is down 50 percent — and more for shopkeepers nearby — as tough new security measures and an unexpected drop in tourism turns some of Paris’s most famous venues into veritable ghost towns.