Is Paris safe for tourists on May 1st?

Old Apr 5th, 2011, 12:03 PM
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Is Paris safe for tourists on May 1st?

Relatives have suggested changing my itinerary - Due in Paris for 3 days beginning May 1st. They speak of riots, protests and civil unrest. I will be driving a car in/parking at a hotel, then walking/using the metro the rest of my stay. Is it safe, or should I reschedule?
Verloren is offline  
Old Apr 5th, 2011, 12:13 PM
  #2  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 49,560
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Oh, by all means steer clear of Paris on May 1 if at all possible, and wear flower armor if you absolutely have to be there. There's simply no telling the physical, emotional, and psychological havoc that lilies of the valley can wreak!
StCirq is offline  
Old Apr 5th, 2011, 12:13 PM
  #3  
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 24,287
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
What??? Where are your relatives getting this information? May 1 is a holiday in France, but riots, protests, and civil unrest are not part of the celebration.
Underhill is online now  
Old Apr 5th, 2011, 12:22 PM
  #4  
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 2,911
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Reports of the massacres of American tourists on May 1 have been kept out of the press by the French Foreign Ministry. The headless bodies are dumped into the Seine. The day has been unofficially named Red River Day in Paris as the river is dyed by Yankee blood. Your relatives sure got it right this time. Boycott French fries.
spaarne is offline  
Old Apr 5th, 2011, 12:23 PM
  #5  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
First (and foremost), these relatives are old (60-80 years old). To them, any kind of celebration that involves over 10,000 people is deemed chaotic and unruly in their eyes. I am having a difficult time talking my traveling companions (older generation) into continuing with our journey regardless of our relatives' advice.
Verloren is offline  
Old Apr 5th, 2011, 12:25 PM
  #6  
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 23,773
Likes: 0
Received 6 Likes on 1 Post
For the first time ever, I may be leading my colleagues in the trade union march on May 1st, which is a lovely pleasant event that allows workers to make known their employment issues.

So by all means avoid it if you are against liberté égalité fraternité. I hear that Saudi Arabia is nice at this time of year.
kerouac is online now  
Old Apr 5th, 2011, 12:25 PM
  #7  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Your replies are cracking me up. I will print and share at dinner tonight. Merci!
Verloren is offline  
Old Apr 5th, 2011, 12:32 PM
  #8  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,585
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I fit into your category of old and have been in Paris May 1 many times (we prefer spring and fall there)....I cannot imagine where they got their information!!
Judy is offline  
Old Apr 5th, 2011, 12:34 PM
  #9  
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 2,254
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Don't be deceived comments of the other posters. They want you to think that Paris is safe so that they can then attack you. They are devious people. There is a special type of sausage made in May from the entrails of tourists.
chartley is offline  
Old Apr 5th, 2011, 12:38 PM
  #10  
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 15,729
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
wait, not only Paris - don't even think about going to Rome on May 1st. God knows what those Europeans might do . After all, many belong to (OMG !) unions.

I bet there are numerous 60+ posters who are laughing out loud.
danon is offline  
Old Apr 5th, 2011, 12:39 PM
  #11  
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 16,392
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
We were in Paris on May 1 a few years go. There was a march, but it was no big deal at all. May 1 is also on a Sunday this year, so expect very few sites to be open - just enjoy walks along the Seine & admire the beautiful building architecture in Paris.

Stu Dudley
StuDudley is online now  
Old Apr 5th, 2011, 01:01 PM
  #12  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 34,839
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I just wonder where these people even got any information at all about May 1st and Paris, in particular? It's just very strange for people who don't even know what that holiday is to have any information whatsoever about it and Paris, they would have to be reading the foreign press or something, which sounds unlikely. A lot of Americans don't have any idea what that holiday is in much of the world. So I still am curious as to how they know anything about this date in Paris.
Christina is online now  
Old Apr 5th, 2011, 01:01 PM
  #13  
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 290
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Make sure you stay away from the Bastille! There's a bi-annual re-storming on 1 May and 14 July. Perhaps one of these days they'll finally knock the old thing down.

In other news, I was going to say that transport may not be running, but it appears Paris is pretty much the only darn place in France that it will be running. Oh well, there's nothing to do in most of France on a Sunday anyway.
gwan is offline  
Old Apr 5th, 2011, 01:07 PM
  #14  
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 290
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Christina - while that might be true today, apparently May Day originated in the US (something I didn't know) http://www.wcml.org.uk/contents/crea...isure/may-day/
While I doubt the old-timer relatives of Verloren were around in 1886, presumably it was celebrated at least by some parts of US society in living memory.
gwan is offline  
Old Apr 5th, 2011, 01:10 PM
  #15  
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 290
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Oh duh, I realise that doesn't actually address why they would have heard anything connected to Paris specifically! I just meant they would be more likely to be generally aware of it. And who knows, perhaps in the McCarthy era or back during the May '68 demonstrations in Paris they got the idea that it was a dangerous hotbed of protest.
gwan is offline  
Old Apr 5th, 2011, 03:06 PM
  #16  
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 4,589
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I think tongue in cheek definitely applies here. Funny stuff!
denisea is offline  
Old Apr 5th, 2011, 03:56 PM
  #17  
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 24,287
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Actually, I think May Day originated in the U.K.: maypole dancing, Morris dancing, and all that fun stuff. I remember as a kid making baskets filled with flowers to hang on neighbors' doors on May Day, though, and our school had a special pageant.
Underhill is online now  
Old Apr 5th, 2011, 04:25 PM
  #18  
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 57,890
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I realize that there are a huge number of americans who are terrified or"workers",union, the labor movement and"socialism". But what century are these people in? Do they think Les Mis is current events?

The only problem you will have is that it's an official holiday and some places will be closed.
nytraveler is offline  
Old Apr 5th, 2011, 05:01 PM
  #19  
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 2,911
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
May 1, Labor Day, is a holiday in many, if not most, countries of Europe. Then there is the Netherlands. They don't celebrate May 1 because they have the greatest one day party in the world the day before, on April 30. See http://tinyurl.com/yln3hrp. That is where you want to be. Spoken as a retired geezer, so don't be whimpering about how old you are. Go to the party and toast the queen. Enjoy your hangover on May 1.
spaarne is offline  
Old Apr 5th, 2011, 10:46 PM
  #20  
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 290
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Underhill - I meant the labour movement aspect, not the festive aspect.
gwan is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -