France ponders money-making suggestion: Open hotels in famous chateaux

French report suggests hotels in chateaux

PARIS — A report commissioned by France’s president offered some surprising suggestions Thursday on how the cash-strapped country can bring in extra money — such as opening luxury hotels in famous royal chateaux.

Like many heavily indebted European countries, France is cutting back on spending. It’s also trying to find ways to make money off its history, architecture and heritage.

Senator Alberic de Montgolfier presented his report Thursday to President Nicolas Sarkozy, offering ideas for new uses for France’s historic sites.

One suggestion is opening luxury hotels in chateaux such as Chambord in the central Loire Valley and Rambouillet outside Paris, according to a statement from the president’s office.

The idea has a precursor in Spain, where the state-run Paradores hotel chain allows tourists to stay in centuries-old monasteries, castles and palaces. In Austria, the state makes available some of the residential wings of Habsburg palaces and surrounding buildings for rent.

Montgolfier’s report also says the government should do more to encourage people to buy state property — a path the government is already taking.

The government says France has a disproportionate amount of property compared with other countries. In June, France launched a supersized sale of 1,700 properties, seeking to shed dilapidated, expensive-to-maintain buildings, including some chateaux.

Sarkozy’s office called Montgolfier’s report rich in ideas, and the president has asked the culture minister to study it.

France has pledged to its European partners to bring down its deficit to 3 percent of GDP by 2013. Its debt, meanwhile, is forecast to continue rising to almost 88 percent of GDP in 2012 from 83 percent this year, and to begin falling beginning in 2013.

One prominent French measure to cut costs is a plan to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62 — a move that has brought protesters into the streets three times in a month.