FRANCE RIOTS - dont believe the hype
 

Its funny how all the experts are coming out of the woodwork regarding the riots in Paris but how many actually live here ?


It is a shame Fox , CNN etc have decided to "sensationalise " the riots .I have been watching US, UK and of course french tv over the last 10 days & there are 3 very different versions of events.

I can assure all fodorites that central Paris is perfectly safe.

Please do not believe the hype and if you do see a bandwagon dont jump on it .

Mark Harris

Are you telling me there are no riots???

Central Paris is NOT affected.

I know I live here !

There are no riots in the area you live in.

But there are riots going on elsewhere.

I read that French tv is not reporting what is going on so as not to make matters worse.

Will it work? I don't know, we will see.

French news isn't reporting what's going on? That's odd - I watch France 2 every night, and there's been no shortage of reporting on the unrest/riots in Paris, Toulouse, and elsewhere. It's dominated the coverage for the past 12 days!

I think they were talking about the burning of so many cars.

St Cirq please tell me where in central Paris there have been riots ??

Please do tell me I am very interested to know .

I read that cars were burned at Place de la Republique. Is that true?

mark:

I never said there were riots in central Paris.

I never said the French tv said there were riots in central Paris.

If you read what I wrote, I was simply refuting eric's assertion that he read somewhere that the French news wasn't reporting the facts so as not to make things worse. The coverage I've been watching on France 2 is quite comprehensive.

I'm well aware that there aren't any riots in central Paris.

Nikki, here's what's happening

"Greetings from Paris.
Please know that Paris is NOT burning.
When I arrived home yesterday after being out in various parts of the city I found five messages from friends and family back in the states regarding the riots and my safety. It had to have been a very slow news day back home Not to make light of the events that have been occurring in France; please know that the riots have not reached central Paris in any manner that should cause concern for visitors (or my family).. The rioters are really directing their anger at the establishment and the current government. All I can say is things are not as horrid as the American press seems to be making them.. You certainly cannot call the riots a pleasant thing, but these have not taken place in the city of Paris. Think of New York City and the Bronx. You don't go out there to see the musical Wicked, you go to Broadway. The one Paris incident that occurred over the weekend sounds as if it was miss-reported as being in the Marias. As it turned out the incident did not really take place in the heart of the Marais. It took place at the very northern edge of the Marias: Place Republique. (since the Marais has become a popular neighborhood it's bounds seem to get bigger) This Place is traditionally where protests and rallies will begin or end. It would not have been the first time that a fire was started there. Again, no one was hurt. I don't believe that these young rioters want to really hurt anyone. (maybe force the Interior minister out of office-if this would happen the riots would probably end). On French news yesterday evening they were calling for a curfew out in the suburbs of Paris. I don't know if this worked to help things, but I'll be watching the news later today. My positive mind is hoping that good attention will come from all of the fires set, those charred cars and burnt businesses in the banlieu. Instead of the problems of the suburbs being swept under the rug, the French people and this government will finally face them. There has already been a great deal written and disscussed assessing, trying to understand what they did wrong all these years. Remember French history and the revolutions. They are also comparing these current events to the student riots that did happen within Paris in 1968. The students were heard and changes would be made. Hopefully positive things will come from this.
Paris is not burning! It is really business as usual. It's just that these social problems are more in the mind and mouths of the people here.
I spoke to one of the guards of the apartment building I live. He is a man from Martinique He lives in the suburbs of Paris, but he said that he did not see or experience the events in his part of the suburbs. He did say that friends of his saw some of the rioters in action. They were surprised at how young they were. He said his friends saw kids that looked 9 or 10 years old running after trying to start a fire. Again, this was something that happened outside of Paris.
I'll be out wandering Paris once again this afternoon.
Yours sincerely from Paris,"
Michael

One car was set alight at the place de repulique - It was quickly extinguished before it went up in flames.
The police are happy to let the rioters burn down their own districts but as soon as they put a foot out of place in paris they are quickly removed.

Divide whatever you hear about the “riots” by 100, and that's the reality. Remember that a lot of people (news media, politicians, SIGs, commentators, you name it—even the vandals themselves) have a lot to gain by dramatically exaggerating the reality.

It is business as usual in Paris, despite all the hype.

Gee, does no one remember the craziness in Paris (Paris proper -- not suburbs) during 1986? The bombs in the shopping arcades on the Champs Elysees, the bomb threats everywhere?? I lived there during that time and I remember not being able (for fear) to go to the movies or shopping or anywhere there would or might be a crowd. To me, that seemed MUCH more intense (maybe because I was living there) than what is going on now. Granted this is very widespread, but it is certainly not the first nor will it be the last time issues such as these will be faced in European cities.

Things were pretty tame in 1986, too.

I've read studies that show that the more people watch the news, the more paranoid and fearful they become. They imagine more dangers, they are more afraid to go out, they worry about all sorts of wildly improbable things, and so on.

Sometimes the best path to take is to just turn the television off.

Let's face it, certain elements of the American media are thrilled to report anything that vilifies France.
Why not believe people on this board who are actually there?

Thanks Mark, I kind of suspected it was more hipe than something tourist would have to contend with. Was surprised to read in the Herald Tribune that the U.S issued an alert to American Tourist.


I have traveled in more difficult circumstances myself and know how this sort of thing can be more alarming on the outside. ...but I am going with step daughter and I was starting to feel a bit concerned for her.

Train from cdg to central Paris ok? I so don't want to take those hotel shuttles. Coming November 22. I doubt this problem will be solved by then since its roots go back a few decades.

Why don't you want to take the Air France bus? It's comfortable and easy.

I don't want to stop at a million hotels along the way willie

You don't stop at a million hotels. If you take the Montparnasse bus, you stop at Gare de Lyon and Gare Montparnasse, and nowhere else. If you take the Etoile bus, you stop at Place de l'Etoile only.

I suggest you take the Roissybus to the Opéra, the only stop it makes. 8.40 €. You can take a cab, a bus, or the métro from there to your hotel. Boots