Ali Akbar started selling papers on the streets in 1974. He is still at it, winning over Parisians and presidents with persistence, humor and his signature catchphrase: “Ça y est!”

© Dmitry Kostyukov for The New York Times

Denied a seat at Jonathan Anderson’s Dior debut, a fashion critic invited all of Paris to watch it with him at a bar. Hundreds took him up on the offer.

The authorities said they were investigating whether the nationalist, anti-immigrant party broke France’s campaign-finance rules.

© Mauricio Lima for The New York Times

First, France cleaned the polluted river so that Olympians could swim there. Now, a year later, it is opening three sites for locals to plunge in.