Under French Inflation

Having just returned from a trip to Paris, I read with some unsatisfying feelings the stories in your section about the restoration that is going on in older hotels in Paris, with millions of dollars being invested to make them more appealing to the tourist. What is needed to make the entire scene more appealing are not hotels with larger bedrooms and more colorful walls but a complete restoration of the French franc in proportion to the American dollar.

Doing this can go a long way in establishing a more cordial relationship between our two countries. Inflation made itself known when I arrived at Gare du Nord and learned that the taxi fare to my hotel, instead of the standard 24 francs (about $4) would be 96 francs ($16). With that in mind, I’ll take Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island, too. They never took me.

MONROE RUBINGER

Beverly Hills