Paris street to ‘shut out Instagrammers’

A pretty cobbled street in Paris has become a huge hit on Instagram, with thousands of pictures and “likes”.

But residents of Rue Cremieux have now had enough and are calling on the city council to restrict access at certain times.

One has even launched an Instagram account logging all the unwanted activity on the street.

It illustrated how the search for the perfect picture could become a problem, said travel blogger Kris Morton.

Residents have asked the city council to provide a gate that can be closed at peak times – evenings, weekends and at sunrise and sunset, when good light attracts people searching for a perfect Instagram picture.

One resident told radio station France Info: “We sit down to eat and just outside we have people taking photos, rappers who take two hours to film a video right beneath the window, or bachelorette parties who scream for an hour. Frankly, it’s exhausting.”

Hogging photo spots

Ms Morton told BBC News she had witnessed a lot of unacceptable behaviour from Instagram users when she had visited beauty spots in Iceland, Venice and at Machu Picchu, Peru.

“There, I stopped and stood at an overlook with my boyfriend and pointed out examples of every cliche Instagram pose being done at the same time along the terraces there,” she said.

“We stood and waited for a couple of minutes while a woman had her male companion taking dozens of photos in different poses, blocking the whole pathway before I got aggravated and just walked in front of the camera to get by.”

But, Ms Morton said, it was the people rather than the app that was to blame.

“Just taking pictures for Instagram isn’t a problem and if it inspires people to travel and see the world it can be a great thing,” she said.

“But intruding on private property, hogging photo spots so no-one else can enjoy them or take their own picture while posing for 100 different shots, or venturing over guardrails or off-trail for a better shot just aren’t OK.

“Instagram away – but do it with some common courtesy and respect for property owners, fellow visitors, and the environment.”