Francophiile, Josephine,Celiaann...and all fedorites thank you for understanding. I am glad that at least my bad experience might be helpful.
It is also good to know that the general perception is that security wise Paris is better than Madrid.
Things are changing very fast and we must at least acknowledge it, for instance a friend who lives in Cartagena, Spain is telling me that to-day there are many threatening assaults in the country side, near this city.LOts of people without work in the construction business and many of them, or most of them are inmigrants.
This is even hard to say it because some people for some reason like to play the discrimination outcry and like to question the fact that most of the attacks come from the inmigration...but according to her who lives there this is a fact.

So, is she a sociologist or a crime statistician?

She is simply someone whose family who live in the country side was politely approach by some guys and then robbed. Once this happened she found out that her family was not alone there were many more similar cases.

Then such testimony is worthless. I hope you understand that.

Sorry, but I do not agree. I am not blind.
But each person can believe what he or she likes.

Forewarned is forarmed, Graziella5b, and I agree with your sensitivity to all. You and the little ones will have a great time in Paris, I am sure.

Check the US State Department travel advisories for a waring on the Paris Metro, especially line 1. Anecdotes don't mean much.

Okay, I checked. There is no mention of Metro line 1. There is a statement that "[m]any thefts occur on the Number One Subway Line". So much for cultural awareness.

On a quick run through the whole piece on France and Monaco, it tells us nothing that has not been discussed here pretty well ad nauseam.

Even if it's not listed on the US State Dept. travel advisory line 1 was the one I was almost robbed. It's frequented by tourists and that's why it's a favorite of thieves.

Graziella, I totally understand how you feel. If one was either a theft victim or potential victim one tries to be more cautious.

Thank you francophile. I also love France and Spain too.
In my heart I have never discriminate either but I like to call a spade a spade.I cannot ignore what I see with my own eyes.

You have to be cautious, but not paranoid. I've been taking the Paris metro since the 70s and things have gotten worse. I'm female by the way.

A few months ago, I left my rented apartment in the 6th to head up to Concorde to shop and as I was walking through the Concorde station, a man walking in the opposite direction looked at me and then quickly started walking in my direction. I gave him the eye to let him know that I had picked up on his quick turnaround and then I went into a kind of "street" mode. He eventually stopped and turned around and walked in the opposite direction away from me. This happened in the early afternoon and on a weekday. I just happened to be the only one walking in that section of the metro station corridor. I usually take buses over the metro unless I have to get somewhere fast.
And if someone wants to pickpocket a person badly enough, they will do it no matter where the money is hidden. If they have to knock a person down to get it, they will. The pickpockets are the absolute worse in Europe in my opinion. I've heard decades of stories from friends. Fortunately, I've been able to escape situations for decades. I NEVER let my guard down...maybe it's just an American thing...or big-city American thing or something. My poor Scandinavian friends were constantly getting robbed/pickpocketed when they traveled out of Scandinavia. I used to always get on them about being too trusting and relaxed. They would tell me all the horror stories when they got back up to DK where I used to live during the summers. Happy Travels!

The worst pickpocket line in Paris is actually line 2, for those who might be wondering.

I've always read it was line 1, also, which made sense to me as so many tourists ride it.

I do not agree that most pickpockets will assault and rob someone -- in fact, that is not the definition of what pickpocketing is, so the statment that if someone wants to pickpocket someone bad enough, they'll get the money wherever it is hidden, even if they need to knock someone down to get it, is false as a fact. That is NOT pickpocketing, it is robbery (using violence on a person to rob something from them).

Also, that is not the norm, so it is wrong to suggest it is. Most pickpockets will not do anything like that, they do want whatever is easy and nonviolent. So it is false and misleading to suggest that precautions are meaningless and that anyone is at equal risk, because it is not true. Of course there are some people who want to rob people enough that they will commit violence to do it (commonly called "mugging" in the US, I believe), but that is not pickpocketing.

Christina...whatever ones wants to call it, they the robbers/pickpockets...bottom line...crooks...will do whatever to get the money if they want it bad enough. I've had it happen to friends and I had a terror of a time in Rome.
And I didn't say anything about "precautions being meaningless". I said, from the get go, that one should be cautious, but not paranoid. Happy Travels!

What gold ring scam!! It was "Bon chance for me"!!! Thank goodness my husband was there.. ok well I felt really bad for taking it.. then offered it back.!!! How stupid I felt when we watched her do it many times over from across the bridge....AND then my friend in Paris said it had been done to her... a lesson learned...

just held my purse tight on the metro.. but honestly after dinner some wine.. i did tend to forget.. some lines were sooooo full though.. a bit scary. But nothing ever happened. yeah..