Japanese Tourists Require Psychiatric Treatment After Visiting Paris

About 12 Japanese tourists a year have to undergo therapy after visiting Paris. This year, Japan's embassy in Paris has had to repatriate at least four visitors due to what the newspaper calls "Paris Syndrome."

Journal du Dimanche explains the psychiatric problems are caused by a discrepancy between the tourists' expectations and the experiences they have while visiting the city.

Two women who visited Japan this year believed their hotel room was bugged and there was a plot against them. Previously, a man thought he was the French king Louis XVI and a woman thought microwaves were attacking her.

"A third of patients get better immediately, a third suffer relapses and the rest have psychosis," says Yousef Mahmoudia, a psychologist at the Hotel-Dieu hospital.