France to sell former Nazi headquarters in Paris

Paris, Dec 9: A former luxury hotel used to house Nazi headquarters in occupied Paris during World War Two is being put up for sale by the French government.

The Hotel Majestic, on the Avenue Kleber near the Arc de Triomphe in central Paris, was seized by the invading German army after the fall of France in June 1940 and turned into a headquarters for both the military command and the Gestapo.

The labyrinthine building became the first Paris headquarters of UNESCO after World War Two and now serves as a conference centre. It will be auctioned off or sold through a public offer soon, a finance ministry spokesman told Reuters on yesterday.

The government has decided to sell off parts of its 38 billion euros (50.51 billion dollar) property portfolio as part of a drive to tighten its budget and increase efficiency.

''We've sold a lot in the middle of Paris, including a number of very prestigious buildings. The sale of the conference centre is part of this restructuring policy,'' the spokesman said.

Reuters