PEOPLE : PARIS WELCOMES HONEYMOON COUPLE.

Planting a kiss on the cheek of his new bride and posing for Paris photographers, Woody Allen pronounced himself ``very, very happy'' Thursday to be spending a Christmas honeymoon in one of his favorite towns.

Allen is widely adored in France, where audiences appreciate his New York humor, his obvious affection for Paris and his quite serviceable - though heavily accented - French.

Allen married Soon-Yi Previn, the adopted daughter of his longtime companion, actress Mia Farrow, in a small ceremony Tuesday in Venice - another favorite town. Previn is 35 years his junior.

The couple flew Wednesday to Paris and are staying at the posh and romantic Ritz Hotel on the Place Vendome.

``We are very, very happy to be here'' the 62-year-old Allen said, climbing briefly out of his chauffeured Mercedes-Benz at the rain-swept Place de la Concorde. Previn, 27, clad in a long camel-color coat, said nothing but smiled demurely when Allen kissed her on the cheek.

``It's a great experience for us, spending Christmas in Paris,'' Allen said. ``We look forward to it all year. And we've been very lucky - we've spent Christmas here every year for the last five years.

That Allen's fondness for Paris and all things French is reciprocated was evident in his recent movie ``Everybody Says I Love You,'' which has enjoyed more success in France than in the United States.

French audiences particularly liked a scene where Allen is seen walking across a bridge on the Seine River, a baguette tucked under his arm - a perfect Parisian tableau.

Allen also has done a number of TV interviews in French, further endearing himself to the locals.

The French audience appears much less concerned with the more complicated details of Allen's private life - the fact that Previn is Farrow's adopted daughter, and that Farrow accused him during a custody case of fondling the daughter they adopted together, Dylan.

The Oscar-winning director was cleared of all charges, but was barred from visiting the children without a monitor.

The Le Monde newspaper recounted Allen's story Thursday in a front-page column that clearly took the director's side. It described the American reaction to Farrow's charges as ``the outrage of a certain America, family-oriented and puritanical, against a man that didn't conform enough.''

And it admiringly described his choice of Venice as a wedding site as a challenge to the world - and especially to America - that it was time ``to go back - why not? - to 18th century Europe, to liberty and seduction, to Voltaire and Casanova.''

Clintons kick back for calm Christmas

President Clinton spent a quiet Christmas at the White House on Thursday, surrounded by his family and his new Labrador, Buddy.

The president's daughter, Chelsea, was home from Stanford University for the holidays. The freshman had accompanied Clinton for a traditional last-minute shopping spree on Christmas Eve.

Earlier this week, Chelsea and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton traveled with the president to Bosnia for a whirlwind, 32-hour visit to thank American troops for keeping the peace in the former Yugoslavia. Clinton had just announced that the soldiers will be staying past a mid-1998 pullout deadline.

Stones strike gold as year's top draw

The time-defying Rolling Stones raked in $89.3 million on their ``Bridges to Babylon'' tour this year, making them the top concert draw of 1997.

Consumers spent $1.3 billion on concerts in 1997, the second-best year ever, but it was more an indication of rising ticket prices than a healthy industry, the concert business trade publication Pollstar said Thursday.

In an era with few acts that can consistently fill stadiums, the Stones continue to roll on. They sold more than 1.5 million tickets, Pollstar said.

Second-place U2 actually sold more tickets, nearly 1.7 million. But the Irish rockers also played to a lot of empty seats, particularly on the second leg of their ``Popmart'' tour when they competed against the Stones, said editor Gary Bongiovanni.

Most tickets for the Stones and U2 cost around $60, and ranged even higher for third-place Fleetwood Mac. Less popular acts with high prices met some resistance from fans, Bongiovanni said.

``When it's a tour they really want to see, they don't bother to pause about the ticket prices,'' he said.

One of the year's hottest tickets was a relative bargain: Country star Garth Brooks, who earned $25 million in 104 dates, generally keeps his prices at or below $20.

Pollstar's annual list of top concert draws was dotted by veteran acts like Tina Turner, Jimmy Buffett, Aerosmith and Barry Manilow. The Grateful Dead heirs Phish, the British band Bush and rapper Puff Daddy were the youngest acts to crack the top 20.

The former Prince earned $24.6 million on a tour that will keep him partying through 1999. He could have earned more with better organization. Many of his concert dates were announced about a week in advance, Bongiovanni said.

Lilith Fair, the summer festival organized by Sarah McLachlan and featuring women artists, earned $16.4 million. Other festivals, like Lollapalooza and the Neil Young-led H.O.R.D.E. tour, didn't fare as well.

``Maybe Neil's fans weren't interested in all of the other acts or in sitting through an eight-hour show,'' Bongiovanni said.

Album sales are also becoming an increasingly undependable barometer of an act's success on the road. The Rolling Stones, U2 and Tina Turner all released albums considered disappointments, but the fans came to see them perform.

The best business year for the concert industry remains 1994, when $1.4 billion worth of tickets were sold.

Michigan honors author Leonard

Elmore Leonard got his own day for Christmas.

Gov. John Engler proclaimed Jan. 16 ``Elmore Leonard Day'' in the mystery writer's home state of Michigan.

Leonard will appear that day at a bookstore in Birmingham, his hometown.

The writer worked at a Detroit-area advertising agency while publishing five novels and 30 short stories from 1951 to 1961. Since the publication of ``Glitz'' in 1985, each of his novels has been a best seller.

In 1992, the Mystery Writers of America presented Leonard with its Grand Master Award. Many of Leonard's novels have been made into movies, including ``Rum Punch,'' adapted into the just-released Quentin Tarantino film ``Jackie Brown.''

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3 Photos

PHOTO (1) Woody Allen smooches wife Soon-Yi Previn in Paris on Thursday.

(2) Jagger 

(3) Leonard