Last week, Paris’ office of tourism announced that 69 million tourists visited the city’s attractions in 2006. Yowsa. And what were the most popular sights?

• First place: Notre Dame — 13.5 million visitors graced the cathedral, up from 13 million in 2005.
• Second place: Basilica de Sacre Coeur in Montmartre — 10 million visits, up from 8 million in 2005.
• Third place: The Louvre — 8.3 million visits, up 10.3 % from 2005.
• Honorable mention: Musee d’Orsey, the 20-year old museum of 19th and 20th Century art, placed seventh with 3 million visits, its highest number ever.

But who are these visitors? The New York Times reports today that the country is aware of the foreign-born demographic packing its museums (occasionally turning the Louvre into a “crowded railroad station”).

President Sarkozy’s government is considering ways to bring the French back into their own cultural institutions, including free admission for les francais. Just don’t bump Mona…