PARIS - French President Emmanuel Macron has shelved plans to force booksellers along the river Seine to remove their stalls for the 2024 Summer Games opening ceremony in response to their opposition, a source at Macron's office said on Feb 13.

Paris booksellers, who have operated from little dark green kiosks on the banks of the Seine for 150 years, had been outraged by plans to remove them for the ceremony for security reasons. They argued they were a symbol of Paris like the Eiffel Tower as well as a big tourist attraction.