PARIS-French Housing Minister Benoist Apparu said he is not against the idea of building new residential tower blocks in Paris to address the shortage of housing in the capital. Increasing housing density is an obvious solution to the shortage of accommodation and is also consistent with sustainable development goals, he said.

"In Paris, tower blocks are indeed a solution that I would wholeheartedly encourage. We can continue to increase housing density in Paris and build in the outskirts," Apparu recently said. However, he said it is for local authorities to decide on the construction of new buildings in the capital.

Apparu said new building is the only valid solution to the shortage of social housing in some parts of France, noting that there is a shortfall of around 800,000 social housing units in areas where the market is particularly tight. President Nicolas Sarkozy recently called for 65 million square feet of office space to be converted into housing to address the shortage of residential property in the Paris Ile-de-France region.