MY friend and I are lounging by the pool at the Hotel Molitor when a message comes through from her mum: “Are you at the Emily In Paris hotel?”

All she’d done was share a snap of the lido on her Instagram, with zero mention of the Netflix comedy drama that stars a US twentysomething living her best life in the French capital.

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The Parisians might loathe the series but the rest of us love it — it’s one of the streaming giant’s most popular.

In fact, it’s one of the reasons we decided to book ourselves into the five-star hotel to the west of the city, which had a starring role in season three as Emily spent the afternoon sipping drinks by the pool.

It’s hardly in the centre of the action — the Molitor is in the fashionable 16th arrondissement, about 25 minutes on the Metro to the Eiffel Tower — but as a result, it’s a peaceful haven.

The rooms are small but stylish with large, space-age beds, Clinique toiletries and floor-length windows that look out over the huge art-deco outdoor pool.

Hotel guests lounge in Molitor-branded deckchairs and bathrobes poolside, making you feel simultaneously in and out of Paris — this was, after all, where the bikini was first introduced to the world in 1946.

Paris has always been the fashion capital of the world but, when it comes to fun, the city had felt like in recent years like it was losing its mojo.

Millennials looking for city breaks opted for cool Berlin, fun Amsterdam or chic Copenhagen, while Paris was considered better for rich oldies, with its brasseries, pricey department stores and museums.

We were seated next to the DJ decks and served Michelin-quality gourmet food but without the fuss

But it’s now back in vogue, experiencing a a renaissance.

Yes, that is in part because the spotlight is back on Paris, thanks to the recent 2024 Olympics, and Emily In Paris, but it’s also because young Paris has found its voice.

Places like the 11th and 18th arrondissements — the cool, Shoreditch-like parts of the city — are packed with restaurants and bars that have a distinctly Parisian edge but without the old-school fustiness.

Try Pantobaguette, for instance, the hip little eaterie that fuses French and Japanese cuisine.

We were seated next to the DJ decks and served Michelin-quality gourmet food but without the fuss.

We dined on ajitsuke eggs with wasabi mayo, aubergine with white peaches and anchovies with smoked butter to a background of Nineties hip-hop.

Or how about Folderol, selling only gelato and natural wine, where locals sip their evening aperitif while lounging on the kerb.

Oysters and wine

When we’d finished our ice creams, we headed to Bambino, a chic restaurant-cocktail bar where records line the walls and you can enjoy a terrace view of the Eiffel Tower.

Nobody does casual sipping like the French — they’ve turned it into an art form.

In Paris, the cool younger bars we went to were all serving affordable but great wine by the small glass, often out of a pump.

Back at a small neighbourhood bistro in the 18th arrondissement, we joined the locals for an early-evening pitstop at the stripped-back La Trincante, where they had a deal of six oysters and a glass of white wine for €14.

Add to that one extra glass of wine for my friend, and the free basket of bread you get in every French restaurant, and our bill came to less than €10 each.

The city’s flea markets are legendary, especially the Marche aux Puces de Saint-Ouen, which features in the new series of Emily In Paris

Equally astonishing prices could be found at one of Paris’s best flea markets, Marche aux Puces de la Porte de Vanves.

The city’s flea markets are legendary, especially the Marche aux Puces de Saint-Ouen, which features in the new series of Emily In Paris.

But we headed to the 14th arrondissement for a market that’s mainly frequented by cool locals, and browsed jewellery, furniture and handbags.

The prices — maybe 25 euros for a painting, five for a broach — were impossible to resist.

Equally classy were the Parisians who we met at Rock en Seine, a day festival in the west of the city, who in the midst of the main-stage crowd were sipping their afford-able rosé out of dainty plastic wine glasses .

It really was a very cool crowd, who had assembled to see Fred Again, one of the most exciting artists to emerge from the British dance scene in years, play a headline set.

Among other huge stars were Lana del Rey and LCD Soundsystem. Aside from the Reading and Leeds Festivals, he is doing zero UK gigs this year — but is gracing Parisians with his presence. Clearly, Fred knows the city is where it’s at.

I’ve been to a lot of festivals but this one must be the friendliest I’ve attended — forget the French reputation for snootiness, by the end we were on first-name terms with everyone within ten metres.

In fact, we even bumped into some of our new friends at the Eurostar station the following day, on our return to London.

It seemed a fair number of festival-goers had the same idea as us, to head over for Fred Again’s set and spend a couple of days exploring the city.

And why not, because swapping a short-haul flight for a two-hour train journey makes all the difference when on a weekend break.

We arrived in Paris feeling fresh and pulled back into King’s Cross St Pancras feeling, frankly, very well rested.

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The automotive market is undergoing a rapid transformation, and it appears that even established giants like Mercedes-Benz are not immune to these changes.

Rise of Chinese Manufacturers

In a surprising development, the luxury automaker is reportedly considering discontinuing two of its most popular and best-selling SUVs, the GLE and GLC.

This shift is primarily driven by the remarkable rise of Chinese manufacturers, which have rapidly captured a significant share of the global automotive market. Brands such as BYD, XPeng, and NIO have emerged as formidable competitors, offering reliable and cost-effective vehicles that appeal to a wide audience, according to Motor.

As of 2023, China has solidified its position as the world’s largest automotive market, surpassing both Europe and the United States in production and sales. In fact, Chinese consumers now purchase more vehicles than their European and American counterparts combined.

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Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

Shigeru Ishiba’s election as leader of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic party is expected to put pressure on the country’s stocks on Monday morning after Nikkei 225 futures fell 6 per cent following his victory this week.

Ishiba, a former defence and agriculture minister who is set to take over as prime minister on October 1, is a China hawk who has vowed to prevent the nation from falling back into deflation.

The new LDP leader has said he supports the Bank of Japan’s plan to normalise monetary policy, but investors are concerned about his support for heavier taxes on companies and investment income.

Before the winner of the leadership race was announced on Friday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index had rallied 2.3 per cent and the yen had fallen, suggesting the market was positioned for a win by economic security minister Sanae Takaichi. Takaichi supported stock market-friendly “Abenomics” policies of ultra-low interest rates and fiscal stimulus.

Nikkei 225 futures traded in Chicago fell sharply after the LDP election result announcement.

“The futures market tells us it’s going to be very ugly on Monday. Normally you would look to buy the dip, but on this occasion you would probably want to wait a bit for everything to adjust,” said a trader at one of Japan’s largest investment banks.

“As more had expected Takaichi to win, the yen has been weakening as she had clearly expressed she will not support further rate hikes by the BoJ,” said Ryota Abe, an economist in the Asia-Pacific division of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC).

The yen rebounded moments after Ishiba was announced as the winner and went into the weekend at about ¥142 against the US dollar. SMBC’s Abe predicted the yen would move in a ¥140-¥145 range after Ishiba’s win.

“Expectations for political pressures on BoJ’s future decisions are likely gone. There should be no hurdles for BoJ to deliver additional rate hikes going forward,” he added.

Masatoshi Kikuchi, chief equity strategist at Mizuho Securities, warned investors that Ishiba’s victory was likely to trigger a reversal of the pre-election rally in the Nikkei 225 index.

Kikuchi noted that going into the election foreign investor confidence in Japan had been fragile as a result of uncertainties about the country’s political direction. In the second week of September, when campaigning for the LDP leadership began, foreign investors were net sellers of ¥1.5tn ($10.6bn) in the cash equities market — their largest week of selling Japanese stocks since 1982, according to Kikuchi.

Some investors are concerned about Ishiba’s desire to raise taxes on both companies and income from privately held financial assets, though he clarified that he would not raise taxes on Japan’s new NISA tax-free investment accounts or individual defined-contribution pension plans.

Any attempt to raise taxes on companies and investors could potentially generate major pushback and hit the new prime minister’s credibility if he were forced into a rapid compromise, equity strategists said.

“Near-term price volatility is likely to persist until Mr Ishiba can clarify his stance on areas of investor concern such as corporate governance reform and tax rates on financial asset income,” said Goldman Sachs analysts in a note.

Investors are already on the hunt for buying opportunities and compiling a basket of stocks considered likely to benefit from an Ishiba administration, including those involved in defence and disaster relief. The 67-year-old has advocated establishment of a disaster management agency in the country, which is often hit by earthquakes, typhoons and flooding.

Within hours of Ishiba’s victory, the top three most searched investment themes on Kabutan, a popular online stock-trading site in Japan, were disaster prevention, defence spending and stocks that benefit from the strong yen.

Still, investors said it was unclear how much Ishiba would actually be able to achieve given how divided the ruling party remained.

“Whilst always popular with the LDP party members, he has finally managed to win over enough of his Diet colleagues who have been reluctant to support him before,” said David Mitchinson, a portfolio manager at Japan specialist Zennor Asset Management. “His lack of a strong personal franchise in parliament may constrain his ability to act.”

The LDP leadership race, which produced a record number of candidates, served as a reminder of how fragmented the ruling block had become.

Robert Feldman, an economist at Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities, warned that there continued to be “major economic policy differences” within the party that would not be ended by its selection of a new party leader.

RARE coins can sell for thousands of times their face value – and it’s always worth seeing if you’ve got any lying about.

One coveted 2p coin garnered the interest of collectors across the world due to its unusual wording and sold for £700 at auction.

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Going under the hammer at RWB Auctions on September 25, the copper sold for a whopping 35,000 times its original market value.

It is easily identified by three words as an error from the UK’s Royal Mint means that the 2p coin reads “new pence” instead of “two pence”.

Collectors say this subtle error was likely produced when an old die was used to strike the coin, and very few of these coins exist.

The handful of these coins can be found in sets produced in collaboration between The Royal Mint and Italian drinks company Martini & Rossi.

They were made as part of a promotional giveaway labelled ‘The Great British 1983 Coin Collection’ on the cover.

But although thousands of the sets were released, only a small number feature the rare 2p coin.

“It is worth checking old coin collections for this set, particularly if you were born in 1983,” said Jon White, of RWB Auctions.

“Someone may have bought you one as a baby or as a Christening present. If they happened to get hold of a rare one, then you have a very valuable gift on your hands.”

The auction house has previously sold a scarce Lord Kitchener £2 for £1,000 and an unusual Olympics 50p for £1,500.

How to spot rare coins and banknotes

Rare coins and notes are highly desirable among specialist collectors and could make you a mint if you find one.

Some of the most in-demand pieces can sell for hundreds of pounds.

If you spot an unusual-looking coin in your change, keep hold of it.

Then look up exactly how rare it is. Usually, the rarer it is, the more valuable it is.

You can find out what coins are rare and how they look on The Royal Mint’s website.

You can also determine the coin and how common it is by looking at the scarcity index on specialist coin collector sites.

To work out how valuable it might be, take a look at similar coins that have recently sold on eBay or even at auction.

Remember to look at “sold listings” to be sure that the coin has sold for the specified amount rather than just been listed.

It’s not just coins, rare notes can sell for multiple times their face value.

This includes fivers, rare £10 notes as well as higher denominations.

One of the main distinguishing marks of a rare note is the serial number.

These numbers can be found on the side with the Monarch’s face, just under the value of £10 in the corner of the note.

Low serial numbers or something quite quirky can see you cash in thousands.

A man has revealed he spent four years living in Airbnbs across 30 different countries as it was much cheaper than paying rent or a mortgage in the UK.

Adam Bradford, 32, from Sheffield, told i he paid an average of around £600 a month including all bills living the nomadic lifestyle.

The young entrepreneur turned successful businessman says he realised that as his clients were based all around the world, he could live anywhere while making his money.

“It was more cost effective and saved me a lot of money, as well as giving me the chance to experience living in so many different places,” he said.

“I had become very despondent with the UK as the cost of living was increasing, taxes were increasing and it was just becoming an unfriendly environment for people who wanted to work hard as the Government was essentially taking more from you.”

Mr Bradford says he and a friend decided to travel extensively and use Airbnbs as a way of living, rather than renting somewhere to live.

During their four-year period, Mr Bradford lived in 30 different countries for varying periods of time and lived in places including the US, Brazil, Argentina, France, Spain, Singapore and Kenya.

“In Thailand, we could pay $9 a night for a villa on an island not far from Bangkok and we had everything at our fingertips.

“If you compare this to living in London and potentially paying £2,000 a month for rent and then being stuck with all the bills and travelling on the Tube and all the rest of it, it’s a no-brainer.”

Mr Bradford, who is CEO and founder of Green Horizon Ventures, an investment company and social enterprise, is now living in Rwanda where he got an office, as he says he became disenchanted by the UK and felt it had nothing to offer him anymore.

Mr Bradford is one of only a handful of people in the UK to have received the late Queen’s Young Leader Award, which was given to young people from across the Commonwealth in recognition of the work they did to transform the lives of those around them.

He told i how his journey began when he was a teenager in Sheffield when he taught himself to assemble computers back when “a computer was a big box” and it was a “huge task to try and fix it.”

“I self taught myself all that at the age of 14 and started a business,” he recalled. “I was independent and free thinking and wanted to earn money for myself doing something I was passionate about.”

Mr Bradford was part of a school based entrepreneurship competition and they ended up being the winners scooping a £10,000 prize and this inspired Mr Bradford to continue down that route.

“As an alternative to university, I ended up studying at an enterprise academy run by Peter Jones of Dragon’s Den,” he explained. “I turned down all of the university offers I had in favour of staying self employed and I became a consultant at the age of 18.

“I was headhunted after the academy to head up the world’s largest fund for new entrepreneurs and we gave out £20m to young people across the UK over a period of four years to help them start their own businesses.”

Mr Bradford embarked on his Airbnb adventure in 2017 after starting to travel more.

“I started to travel more and used Airbnbs as a way to live, rather than renting,” he said. “Looking at the rental market in the UK, I didn’t want to be one of these people locked in by a landlord who takes their deposit, then doesn’t furnish the property properly and they have all these issues while still having to pay rent.

“For me, this was a more controllable life and it saved me a lot of money. The longest I stayed anywhere was in West Africa during Covid times when there was limited travel and the shortest stay I did was at an Airbnb in Italy for three days.

“As well as being more cost effective, it was enjoyable and there was camaraderie.

“At that point, we had freedom of travel, so you could hop around Europe. Since Brexit, it has become harder.”

Just over two years ago, Mr Bradford decided to move to Rwanda permanently after being invited to a conference n the African state and says his business is still working globally, but from somewhere which doesn’t have the burden of living that he feels the UK has.

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“There’s been a lot of controversy about Rwanda in the UK, but a lot of that is entrenched in political fighting and involves people who have never been here or walked the streets here,” he said.

“We have always had a foot in Africa in terms of the work we do as a business, whether it’s supporting young people or starting projects which improve communities and we are doing a lot in the environmental space.

“We opened a branch here and decided to stay and have never looked back.”

Reflecting on the reasons why he lost confidence in the UK, Mr Bradford told i: “I have massive respect for the constitution and our Royal Family, but I felt political apathy.

“It is not just me – it is a collective view of many people my age who think: ‘What the heck happened to our country?’

“Our industrial strategy disappeared and I could just not see a place for myself in the UK. Politics doesn’t connect to young people at all in the UK in my opinion.

“I feel safe and happy in Rwanda and feel I have a good future here. My family still live in Sheffield and I still visit the UK every six months or so to see them.”

He added: “Many businesses are looking to emigrate out of the UK and I am an individual who was disillusioned by the UK who did the same.

“The UK has an underemployment problem where people are in jobs, but they are not good enough jobs to pay the bills and their jobs are not good enough to keep them enthusiastic.”

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Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leadership contender, has claimed that not all cultures are “equally valid”, as the party gathered for an annual conference that looked set to be dominated by immigration.

The former business secretary criticised “recent immigrants who hate Israel”, adding: “I don’t think those who bring foreign conflicts here should be welcome.”

Asked on Sunday by the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg who exactly she meant, Badenoch replied: “You want me to say ‘Muslims’, but it isn’t all Muslims. I’m not going to play that game.”

Asked which cultures were “less valid?” she replied that when she was out canvassing a woman answered the door to her and said: “I can’t speak to you, I will get my husband.”

“I don’t think that is as equally valid as our culture,” Badenoch said.

Separately, in a Sunday Telegraph article, she wrote: “We cannot assume immigrants will automatically abandon ancestral ethnic hostilities at the border, or that their cultures are equally valid. They are not.”

Badenoch is the bookmakers’ second favourite to succeed Rishi Sunak as Tory leader, but former immigration minister Robert Jenrick is regarded as the clear frontrunner.

Jenrick, speaking ahead of the four-day conference in Birmingham, said immigration was the most important issue in the contest, but that the NHS and economy were key too.

He has promised to end the era of “mass migration”, imposing a legal cap on immigration in the tens of thousands, as well as promising to leave the European Convention on Human Rights, which he claims impedes Britain’s attempts to control its borders.

The Tory conference has been described as an extended “beauty pageant” for the four contenders vying to succeed Sunak, who will be replaced on November 2.

Tom Tugendhat, former security minister, and James Cleverly, former foreign secretary, are both seen to be flagbearers for the party’s moderate centre.

Sunak is expected to appear briefly in Birmingham on Sunday to appeal for unity and thank party members for their work during the party’s general election campaign.

He will then head home on Sunday evening, clearing the way for the four leadership contenders to court MPs and party members at various fringe meetings and two set-piece events in the main hall.

On Monday and Tuesday, the four candidates will face questions from the floor and on Wednesday they will make speeches setting out their pitch.

Tory MPs will next month decide on a shortlist of two, with party members having the final say in the contest. The result of the run-off will be announced on November 2.

There will be unwelcome distractions for the party offstage during the Birmingham conference, with Boris Johnson promoting his memoirs Unleashed and making claims such as his abortive plot to send special forces to the Netherlands to extract Covid-19 vaccines.

Liz Truss, another former premier, will be in Birmingham on Monday, offering advice on how to generate more economic growth.