.PARIS : can the Backend Registry help sales?

As published on the 06/24/2025, it is with no surprise that the AFNIC was renewed as the Backend-Registry provider of the .PARIS new generic Top-Level Domain.

The announcement

What caught my attention in the announcement is this paragraph :

"Afnic’s remit will also be expanded to include communication and promotion of the .paris TLD, as well as the development of initiatives designed to increase its adoption by businesses and private individuals."

The Backend Registry is also going to include communication to its role. My understanding of this paragraph is that the number of domain name created ("sold" ?) should evolve to...more domain names on the market.

An interesting test

If more communication to me means more domain name registrations, it is going to be easy to check if the Backend Registry does a good job : .PARIS domain name registrations have stagnated around 25,000 in 2023 and dropped to 19,500 in 2024 and 2025 (up to June 2025). These numbers should therefore ...increase.

The role of the Backend Registry provider

If such a communication role was not really the role of Backend Registries in the first Round of the ICANN new gTLD program in 2012, this trend could develop since :

• some Backed-Registry providers also own one or more Registrars which can greatly contribute to launching a new Registry (and help bringing more domain names to the market faster).
• there are more Backend Registries who want clients for the next Round of the ICANN new gTLD program : they come in competition with already existing providers.
• there are now lots of Backend Registry providers with experience from the first Round of ICANN new gTLDs : they need to add that little something more to their offer to generate interest. Contributing to a Registry's communication is a strong asset in an offer.
• some Backend-Registry providers already offer the "key-in-hand solution", adding the feasibility study to writing and submitting the new gTLD application to the ICANN. These are very competitive solutions but are they enough? They don't address the important question : how do you increase sales?

It is a good announcement by the AFNIC to take such role in contributing to the .PARIS communication. For those interested, we have asked the following question to an AI : "New gTLDs: when creating a new Registry, do you need sales roles?". It is answered here : www.gtld.blog.

This article was first published on CircleId.

New gTLDs and City names

The city of Istanbul gains more than 1,000 new domain registrations in one month, with its .ISTANBUL new gTLD. Three cities have sticked to the red for the past 3 months and keep losing registrations. Six cities are "in the blue" and have kept gaining more registrations for the past two months.

Eight cities just...don't want to launch and have one single domain name registered. One of them, the city of Boston and its .BOSTON new gTLD, should launch soon.

The .SYDNEY new gTLD passed the 10,000 new domain name registrations: "Congrats".

We are comfortable with adding the .TOURS new gTLD as a city name since this French city, also called "Le Jardin de la France" ("The Garden of France"), has a population of 140,000.

The domain name extensions concerned are:

1. .NYC
2. .BERLIN
3. .LONDON
4. .TOKYO
5. .CITY
6. .AMSTERDAM
7. .KOELN
8. .HAMBURG
9. .MOSCOW
10. .PARIS
11. .ISTANBUL
12. .МОСКВА (xn--80adxhks)
13. .WIEN
14. .VEGAS
15. .IST
16. .MIAMI
17. .SYDNEY
18. .MELBOURNE
19. .QUEBEC
20. .BARCELONA
21. .BRUSSELS
22. .TOURS
23. .COLOGNE
24. .CAPETOWN
25. .NAGOYA
26. .YOKOHAMA
27. .GENT
28. .JOBURG
29. .TAIPEI
30. .OKINAWA
31. .TOWN
32. .DURBAN
33. .RIO
34. .OSAKA
35. .KYOTO
36. .DUBAI
37. .BCN
38. .MADRID
39. .STOCKHOLM
40. .HELSINKI
41. .BUDAPEST
42. .DOHA
43. .ABUDHABI
44. .BOSTON

The April 2017 full report is available here.

We are open to add more city names, no matter if they are a generic string with multiple meanings. Forward the names to us. Thank you.

The weekly "cities" new gTLD report by Jean Guillon

Are new domain names for cities purchased? This weekly publication reports on cities new domain name registration volumes.

1. The .NYC new gTLD: 76 391 domain name registrations
2. .LONDON : 64 044
   
3. .BERLIN : 59 652
4. .TOKYO : 47 443
5. .AMSTERDAM : 24 896
6. .KOELN : 24 652
7. .HAMBURG : 24 424
8. .MOSCOW : 21 281
9. .PARIS : 21 063
10. .CITY : 18 896
11. .МОСКВА (xn--80adxhks) : 18 381
12. .MIAMI : 14 417
13. .VEGAS : 13 960
14. .WIEN : 13 849
15. .QUEBEC : 8 882
16. .SYDNEY : 8 579
17. .MELBOURNE : 8 567
18. .BRUSSELS : 6 471
19. .COLOGNE : 5 318
20. .CAPETOWN : 4 358
21. .TOURS : 4 315
22. .NAGOYA : 4 117
23. .JOBURG : 3 364
24. .GENT : 3 180
25. .YOKOHAMA : 3 175
26. .TOWN : 2 599
27. .TAIPEI : 2 552
28. .OKINAWA : 2 533
29. .DURBAN : 2 461
30. .RIO : 1 240
31. .OSAKA : 491 (0)
32. .KYOTO : 338
33. .ISTANBUL : 223
34. .IST : 216
35. .BOSTON (coming)
36. .BARCELONA (coming)
37. .BCN (coming)
38. .DUBAI (coming)

Source: ntldstats.com

In blue: city extensions with a notable domain name registration increase; in pink we added ".city" and ".town" new gTLDs; in red, city extensions facing a registration decrease from one week to the other. Please note that ".tours" (a French city) was added to the list.

The Nameshield Group: Registry, Corporate and Retail Registrar

Most recent Trademark Clearinghouse Sunrise Period announcements

The weekly "cities" new gTLD report by Jean Guillon

Are new domain names for Cities purchased? This weekly publication reports on cities new domain name registration volumes.

2 extensions added

This week, we added two new domain name extensions to the report: .IST and .ISTANBUL now have more than 100 registrations.

1. The .NYC new gTLD: 75 188 domain name registrations
2. .LONDON : 63 875
3. .BERLIN : 59 647
4. .TOKYO : 47 281
5. .AMSTERDAM : 24 802
6. .KOELN : 24 563
7. .HAMBURG : 23 726
8. .MOSCOW : 21 467
9. .PARIS : 20 904
10. .CITY : 18 893
11. .МОСКВА (xn--80adxhks) : 18 506
12. .MIAMI : 14 260
13. .VEGAS : 13 916
14. .WIEN : 13 750
15. .QUEBEC : 8 903
16. .MELBOURNE : 8 529
17. .SYDNEY : 8 512
18. .BRUSSELS : 6 450
19. .COLOGNE : 5 299
20. .CAPETOWN : 4 350
21. .TOURS : 4 275
22. .NAGOYA : 4 108
23. .JOBURG : 3 365
24. .GENT : 3 175
25. .YOKOHAMA : 3 161
26. .TOWN : 2 577
27. .TAIPEI : 2 528
28. .OKINAWA : 2 514
29. .DURBAN : 2 473
30. .RIO : 1 224
31. .OSAKA : 491
32. .KYOTO : 331
33. .ISTANBUL : 123
34. .IST : 117
35. .BOSTON (coming)
36. .BARCELONA (coming)
37. .BCN (coming)

Source: ntldstats.com

In blue: city extensions with a notable domain name registration increase; in pink we added ".city" and ".town" new gTLDs; in red, city extensions facing a registration decrease from one week to the other. Please note that ".tours" (a French city) was added to the list.

The Nameshield Group: Registry, Corporate and Retail Registrar

Most recent Trademark Clearinghouse Sunrise Period announcements

The weekly "cities" new gTLD report by Jean Guillon

The more I watch this report, the more I found it interesting to see that it is rare when the .LONDON new gTLD loses registrations. This weekly publication reports on cities new domain name registration volumes.

1. The .NYC new gTLD: 75 132 domain name registrations
2. .LONDON : 63 652
3. .BERLIN : 59 512
4. .TOKYO : 47 102
5. .AMSTERDAM : 24 703
6. .KOELN : 24 507
7. .HAMBURG : 23 672
8. .MOSCOW : 21 678
9. .PARIS : 20 882
10. .CITY : 18 836
11. .МОСКВА (xn--80adxhks) : 18 655
12. .MIAMI : 14 181
13. .VEGAS : 13 827
14. .WIEN : 13 631
15. .QUEBEC : 8 942
16. .MELBOURNE : 8 500
17. .SYDNEY : 8 437
18. .BRUSSELS : 6 460
19. .COLOGNE : 5 298
20. .CAPETOWN : 4 395
21. .TOURS : 4 232
22. .NAGOYA : 4 098
23. .JOBURG : 3 403
24. .GENT : 3 157
25. .YOKOHAMA : 3 140
26. .TOWN : 2 543
27. .TAIPEI : 2 509
28. .OKINAWA : 2 501
29. .DURBAN : 2 500
30. .RIO : 1 211
31. .OSAKA : 486
32. .KYOTO : 315
33. .BOSTON (coming)
34. .BARCELONA (coming)
35. .BCN (coming)

In blue: city extensions with a notable domain name registration increase; in pink we added ".city" and ".town" new gTLDs; in red, city extensions facing a registration decrease from one week to the other.

Source: ntldstats.com

The Nameshield Group: Registry, Corporate and Retail Registrar

Most recent Trademark Clearinghouse Sunrise Period announcements

The weekly "cities" new gTLD report by Jean Guillon

Are new domain names for cities purchased? This weekly publication reports on cities new domain name registration volumes.

This week, the .NYC domain name extension for the city of New York keeps loosing registrations, as well as the .PARIS for the second week. THE extension for the city of Kyoto enters the report this week with 132 registrations.

1. The .NYC new gTLD: 75 650 domain name registrations
2. .LONDON : 62 739
3. .BERLIN : 59 347
4. .TOKYO : 47 359
5. .MOSCOW : 26 403
6. .AMSTERDAM : 24 388
7. .KOELN : 24 306
8. .МОСКВА (xn--80adxhks) : 23 601
9. .HAMBURG : 23 558
10. .PARIS : 22 292
11. .CITY : 18 017
12. .MIAMI : 13 862
13. .WIEN : 13 673
14. .VEGAS : 13 676
15. .QUEBEC : 10 007
16. .MELBOURNE : 8 445
17. .SYDNEY : 8 186
18. .BRUSSELS : 6 469
19. .COLOGNE : 5 258
20. .CAPETOWN : 4 446
21. .TOURS : 4 076
22. .NAGOYA : 4 067
23. .JOBURG : 3 398
24. .GENT : 3 154
25. .YOKOHAMA : 3 108
26. .DURBAN : 2 496
27. .TOWN : 2 484
28. .TAIPEI : 2 476
29. .OKINAWA : 2 464
30. .RIO : 1 182
31. .OSAKA : 478
32. .KYOTO : 132 (just added)
33. .BOSTON (coming)
34. .BARCELONA (coming)
35. .BCN (coming)

In blue: city extensions with a notable domain name registration increase; in pink we added ".city" and ".town" new gTLDs; in red, city extensions facing a registration decrease from one week to the other. Please note that ".tours" (a French city) was added to the list.

Source: ntldstats.com

The Nameshield Group: Registry, Corporate and Retail Registrar

Most recent Trademark Clearinghouse Sunrise Period announcements

The weekly "cities" new gTLD report by Jean Guillon

This week, the .PARIS new gTLD is in the red and .VEGAS dives into the abyss. Surprisingly, the .NYC domain name extension remains in the red. Some dotCities from past week get back to normal.

In blue: city extensions with a notable domain name registration increase; in pink we added ".city" and ".town" new gTLDs; in red, city extensions facing a registration decrease from one week to the other. Please note that ".tours" (a French city) was added to the list.

1. The .NYC new gTLD: 75 810 domain name registrations
2. .LONDON : 62 620
3. .BERLIN : 59 174
4. .TOKYO : 47 193
5. .MOSCOW : 26 211
6. .AMSTERDAM : 24 275
7. .KOELN : 24 260
8. .МОСКВА (xn--80adxhks) : 23 495
9. .HAMBURG : 23 466
10. .PARIS : 22 503
11. .CITY : 17 933
12. .MIAMI : 13 763
13. .WIEN : 13 627
14. .VEGAS : 13 620
15. .QUEBEC : 10 955
16. .MELBOURNE : 8 444
17. .SYDNEY : 8 133
18. .BRUSSELS : 6 441
19. .COLOGNE : 5 239
20. .CAPETOWN : 4 441
21. .NAGOYA : 4 050
22. .TOURS : 4 025
23. .JOBURG : 3 397
24. .GENT : 3 118
25. .YOKOHAMA : 3 101
26. .DURBAN : 2 497
27. .TOWN : 2 472
28. .TAIPEI : 2 469
29. .OKINAWA : 2 444
30. .RIO : 1 176
31. .OSAKA : 475
32. .BOSTON (coming)
33. .BARCELONA (coming)
34. .BCN (coming)

Source: ntldstats.com

The Nameshield Group: Registry, Corporate and Retail Registrar

Most recent Trademark Clearinghouse Sunrise Period announcements

The weekly "cities" new gTLD report by Jean Guillon

Are new domain names for cities purchased? This weekly publication reports on cities new domain name registration volumes.

1. The .NYC new gTLD: 77 486 registrations
2. .LONDON : 62 366
3. .BERLIN : 58 618
4. .TOKYO : 46 732
5. .MOSCOW : 26 125
6. .KOELN : 24 160
7. .AMSTERDAM : 23 997
8. .МОСКВА (xn--80adxhks) : 23 608
9. .HAMBURG : 23 345
10. .PARIS : 22 763
11. .CITY : 17 706
12. .VEGAS : 14 522
13. .MIAMI : 13 555
14. .WIEN : 13 497
15. .QUEBEC : 11 113
16. .MELBOURNE : 8 669
17. .SYDNEY : 8 024
18. .BRUSSELS : 6 402
19. .COLOGNE : 5 200
20. .CAPETOWN : 4 531
21. .NAGOYA : 4 030
22. .TOURS : 3 898
23. .JOBURG : 3 430
24. .YOKOHAMA : 3 092
25. .GENT : 3 082
26. .DURBAN : 2 534
27. .OKINAWA : 2 424
28. .TOWN : 2 442
29. .TAIPEI : 2 445
30. .RIO : 1 152
31. .OSAKA : 470

Coming:

• .BOSTON
• .BARCELONA
• .BCN

In blue: city extensions with a notable domain name registration increase; in pink we added ".city" and ".town" new gTLDs; in red, city extensions facing a registration decrease from one week to the other. Please note that ".tours" (a French city) was added to the list.

Source: ntldstats.com

The Nameshield Group: Registry, Corporate and Retail Registrar

Most recent Trademark Clearinghouse Sunrise Period announcements

The new gTLD info of the day (Wednesday)

www.fitness.club

• RPMs for .FROGANS new gTLD
• How Premiums domains are selected for an auction?
• "Adult" domains pose new challenges for Trademark Owners
• Should you have bought a .PARIS domain name? (in French)
• .MUSIC : how it will go mainstream
• Dated 24/12/2015, the French Ministry of Economy thinks .WINE and .VIN were suspended (in French)

Rights protection mechanisms for new internet layer outlined, but could more have been done?
OP3FT, the non-profit organisation whose purpose is to hold, promote and protect the newFrogans layer of the internet, has expanded on the rights protection mechanisms (RPMs) being made available to trademark owners. However, a leading commentator has expressed disappointment at the conservative approach it has taken towards intellectual property protection.
http://www.worldtrademarkreview.com/Blog/detail.aspx?g=7670cb6a-5c4c-4b25-a0d6-8be489a797d0 (possible registration required to read this article).

How do you choose the domain names to enter into the auction?

Monte: We look at a number of factors in choosing names for the RightOfTheDot / NamesCon auction (not in order of importance).
https://www.namepros.com/blog/the-most-successful-domain-auction-ever-we-ask-rightofthedot.908682/

‘Adult’ Domains Pose New Challenges for Trademark Owners
The launch of new adult-related top-level domains is reminiscent of the early days of cybersquatting, when domain name registrants created pornographic websites that contained trademarks owned by well-known brands
http://www.gigalaw.com/2016/01/06/adult-domains-pose-new-challenges-trademark-owners/

Bilan .PARIS, un an après

L'extension de nom de domaine .PARIS a été lancée en juin 2014. Dans un premier temps réservée à une liste très restreinte de professionnels, l'extension .PARIS avait ensuite été ouverte au grand public en décembre 2014. A peine un après son lancement public, quel premier bilan peut-on tirer ?
http://www.dynamique-mag.com/article/bilan-paris-an-apres.8290

How .MUSIC Will Go Mainstream and Benefit ICANN's New gTLD Program

1. Obstacles to New gTLD Success: Competing with .COM, Awareness and Adoption
2. How Awareness, Adoption and Differentiation Can Be Achieved
3. DotMusic has created a strong, trusted brand for itself over the last decade and has raised unprecedented support and awareness in both the domain and music industries that will be leveraged by DotMusic to become the first new gTLD to be community and industry adopted and to go mainstream
4. The Way Forward: Collaboration and Co-opetition
5. .MUSIC Will Go Mainstream Benefiting the New gTLD Program and ICANN

http://www.circleid.com/posts/20161206_how_dot_music_will_go_mainstream_and_benefit_new_gtld_program/

Réponse du Ministère de l’Economie, de l’industrie et du numérique (JO SENAT, 24/12/2015, p.3594)
À la suite d’un nouveau recours intenté par la Commission européenne et les organisations viti-vinicoles (procédure de l’ICANN dite de « cooperative engagement »), la délégation de ces deux domaines est aujourd’hui suspendue afin de permettre à l’ICANN, à la Commission européenne et aux représentants des viticulteurs européens de discuter une nouvelle fois.
http://www.davidbarthe.fr/ouverture-des-noms-de-domaine-vin-et-wine/

The Nameshield Group: Registry, Corporate and Retail Registrar

Most recent Trademark Clearinghouse Sunrise Period announcements

The weekly "cities" new gTLD report by Jean Guillon

Are new domain names for cities purchased? This weekly publication reports on cities new domain name registration volumes.

In blue: city extensions with a notable domain name registration increase; in pink we added ".city" and ".town" new gTLDs; in red, city extensions facing a registration dicrease from one week to the other. Please note that ".tours" (a French city) was added to the list.

1. The .NYC new gTLD: 86 522 domain name registrations
2. .LONDON : 62 489
3. .BERLIN : 58 304
4. .TOKYO : 41 726
5. .MOSCOW : 25 786
6. .KOELN : 24 015
7. .AMSTERDAM : 23 643
8. .МОСКВА (xn--80adxhks) : 23 320
9. .HAMBURG : 23 254
10. .PARIS : 22 782
11. .VEGAS : 14 977
12. .CITY : 19 407
13. .WIEN : 13 434
14. .MIAMI : 13 140
15. .QUEBEC : 11 145
16. .MELBOURNE : 8 607
17. .SYDNEY : 7 868
18. .BRUSSELS : 6 352
19. .CAPETOWN : 5 189
20. .COLOGNE : 5 177
21. .NAGOYA : 4 072
22. .JOBURG : 3 729
23. .TOURS : 3 664
24. YOKOHAMA : 3 101
25. .GENT : 3 080
26. .DURBAN : 2 667
27. .OKINAWA : 2 582
28. .TOWN : 2 442
29. .TAIPEI : 2 387
30. .RIO : 1 096
31. .OSAKA : 459

Source: https://ntldstats.com/tld/paris

The Nameshield Group: Registry, Corporate and Retail Registrar

Most recent Trademark Clearinghouse Sunrise Period announcements

The weekly "cities" new gTLD report by Jean Guillon

Are new domain names for cities purchased? This weekly publication reports on cities new domain name registration volumes.

In blue: city extensions with a notable domain name registration increase; in pink we added ".city" and ".town" new gTLDs; in red, city extensions facing a registration decrease from one week to the other. Please note that ".tours" (a French city) was added to the list.

1. The .NYC new gTLD: 87 672 domain name registrations;
2. .LONDON : 65 371;
3. .BERLIN : 58 083;
4. .TOKYO : 41 236;
5. .KOELN : 23 988;
6. .MOSCOW : 24 989;
7. .AMSTERDAM : 23 328;
8. .HAMBURG : 23 172;
9. .МОСКВА (xn--80adxhks) :22 551;
10. .PARIS : 22 456;
11. .CITY : 19 188;
12. .VEGAS : 14 955;
13. .WIEN : 13 371;
14. .MIAMI : 12 826;
15. .QUEBEC : 11 106;
16. .MELBOURNE : 8 548;
17. .SYDNEY : 7 748;
18. .BRUSSELS : 6 303;
19. .CAPETOWN : 5 282;
20. .COLOGNE : 5 176;
21. .NAGOYA : 4 067 (0);
22. .JOBURG : 3 806;
23. .TOURS : 3 547; 
24. YOKOHAMA : 3 117;
25. .GENT : 3 040;
26. .TOWN : 2 841;
27. .DURBAN : 2 734;
28. .OKINAWA : 2 552;
29. .TAIPEI : 2 342;
30. .RIO : 1 051;
31. .OSAKA : 455.

Source: https://ntldstats.com/tld/paris

The Nameshield Group: Registry, Corporate and Retail Registrar

Most recent Trademark Clearinghouse Sunrise Period announcements

The weekly "cities" new gTLD report by Jean Guillon

Are new domain names for cities purchased? This weekly publication reports on cities new domain name registration volumes.

In blue: city extensions with a notable domain name registration increase; in pink we added ".city" and ".town" new gTLDs; in red, city extensions facing a registration dicrease from one week to the other. Please note that ".tours" (a French city) was added to the list.

1. The .NYC new gTLDs: 87 618 domain name registrations;
2. .LONDON : 66 960;
3. .BERLIN : 57 992;
4. .TOKYO : 41 059;
5. .KOELN : 24 023;
6. .MOSCOW : 23 951;
7. .AMSTERDAM : 23 149;
8. .HAMBURG : 23 106;
9. .PARIS : 22 363;
10. .МОСКВА (xn--80adxhks) :21 291;
11. .CITY : 19 028;
12. .VEGAS : 17 077;
13. .WIEN : 13 314;
14. .MIAMI : 12 517;
15. .QUEBEC : 11 085;
16. .MELBOURNE : 8 445;
17. .SYDNEY : 7 691;
18. .BRUSSELS : 6 250;
19. .CAPETOWN : 5 430;
20. .COLOGNE : 5 185;
21. .NAGOYA : 4 069;
22. .JOBURG : 3 936;
23. .TOURS : 3 488; 
24. .YOKOHAMA : 3 115;
25. .GENT : 3 019;
26. .TOWN : 2 846;
27. .DURBAN : 2 819;
28. .OKINAWA : 2 527;
29. .TAIPEI : 2 304;
30. .RIO : 1 014;
31. .OSAKA : 448.

Source: https://ntldstats.com/tld/paris

The Nameshield Group: Registry, Corporate and Retail Registrar

Most recent Trademark Clearinghouse Sunrise Period announcements