A lot of police in Paris today.

There was violence at a Manchester England synagogue on Thursday during Yom Kipper. Maybe related to large police presence in other parts of Europe, maybe not.

Margie, absolutely not ... no need for assumptions https://www.cgtetat.fr/IMG/jpg/552315656_1203425598477774_6632016904675112463_n.jpg
24.000 people mobilised in Paris today.

I did say “maybe not”. Thank you for letting us all know it was a nationwide transportation strike….

Thanks for info.

Not surprising about their presence in the area of the Army Museum.

I envy you being in Paris at this time, where the action is. If were not for Schengen, I would be back in Paris in a jiffy in this propitious moment. I wonder many law enforcement nation-wide have been mobilised to deal any contingences

I would assume large numbers of police even the CRS are deployed at the Place de la Republique and Bastille.

Maybe, two things can be true at the same time -- it could be both the national strike day and it could be extra protection for Yom Kippur. Today the stretch of Rue des Tournelles from Rue de la Bastille to Rue du Pas de la Mule was closed to vehicular traffic with armed police officers on the street. I was out heading to Chez Janou and asked an officer why the street was closed and he said it was extra security for Yom Kippur for Synagogue des Tournelles.

The demonstrations in Paris today were rather calm and friendly. According to the press, even the CRS (riot police) went home early without firing a single tear gas grenade. Good old traditions are disappearing. :)

If the police have anything to do in the area of ​​the Army Museum, it's not to protect the museum but the National Assembly, which is located next door.

If there’s a terror attack in Manchester you can bet that France is paying attention. It would be remiss not to.

The protest route for yesterday's demonstrations was on the Left Bank - the police were setting up for that.

And yes the large police presence in the area that JHK brought up has to do with yhe Museum of Jewish History near there plus a couple of synagogues and Rue desnRosiers and that area.

I walked by the big personnel carriers with some kind of weaponry mounted on top in front of the Army Museum about noon yesterday/Thursday. They had the side doors open and the police were all standing on the sidewalk with small cups of espresso. There were what appeared to be wrappers from sandwiches on the floor of the carrier. Clearly staging for something but no threat was imminent based on their behavior. I’d also seen some different smaller rigs parked off Rue de Grenelle maybe on Rue de Bellechasse but they had armed officers blocking the street at that point. I think that leads to the area of the Prime Minister’s house on Rue de Varenne.

The transit strike in Bordeaux yesterday was odd. Some trams and buses were running, though most were not. As I understand it, the stoppage didn't begin until about 10 am. Many locals seemed as perplexed as I was.

In answer to a question above, yes, police presence has been increased at all Jewish institutions in France.

Elizabeth, across Europe things are being stepped up. Everyone, tourists included, should expect to see increases in protective measures in Jewish communities and around Jewish historic sites. We have a large Jewish population and the government has become proactive in the defense of the population. I live across the street from a Synagogue and there has been some tagging, but quickly covered up by people in the community.

https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/09/19/eu-will-step-up-security-of-jews-in-europe-against-troubling-antisemitism

One can the expect to see more French Army troops patrolling in the area of Rambuteau Metro station since that is the station to reach the Museum as you take upstairs escalators. I was there in that area quite often in my month long stay this trip.

I like seeing French soldiers patrolling in Paris in squads, it reminds me of what I saw in Paris in the mid and late 1990s.

In Bordeaux yesterday there was the strike and protests along with it. Very orderly but lots of police presence, especially by the city hall. Other than a few minor things closed, including streets, it wasn't worrisome or much of a disruption down here. We have guests in town so it was interesting seeing it from there perspective (we have had much worse in Bordeaux during the past couple of years.)

Thursday Oct 2 around 7PM we were on BD Saint Germaine. There were several waves of police vehicles flying up the street. It was probably 25-30 in all.

Neither our hotel clerk or our tour guide knew anything about it and guessed it was in response to the selective strikes. This guess didn’t make sense to me, but it could be correct

I checked out of my Paris hotel ca. noon on 16 Sept, as I was flying out on 17 Sept from CDG to SFO. I spend the last night not in Paris but at Roissy.

Before I left the hotel, I talked to the main guy there, not the owner, but the next one down the line that he would see back in 8-9 months, and then we talked, mostly in English, somewhat in French, about the main topic that I wanted to ask: the looming strike set for 18 Sept.

He had a nonchalant view of it, told me which month these strikes, demonstrations are apt to take place, and one basically works around them, make arrangements, etc, no big deal, the disruption, violence, police presence and army too, That attitude of calmness, the nonchalant view did surprise me. It should not have if I had known better.

I told him I would be missing all this, ( a pity) , not being in Paris where the action is since my flight was the day before.

Al Jazeera reported 600,000 armed personnel in 245 cities across France were on alert on October 2nd. I’m staying directly across the Assemble Nationale and have seen several streets blocked in the last 3 days as well as a few protests. Today is quiet.

That's credible.

I saw on the French news on 15 Sept that 400,000 were mobilised to deal with 18 Sept. The lobby of my hotel in Paris has 3 TVs, all of them set to a different news channel and their talking heads. So when one came in and out of the hotel you were confronted with all three TVs. No sound was on, obviously, I stood there and read the subtitles the best I could.

We visited Paris in 2010 for the first time in late January. Even then the cops were everywhere, it felt very safe, but the only annoyance were the sirens basting away what seemed like all day. We could walk anywhere even though it was freezing and feel safe. We could go to three to four sites a day to the point of exhaustion. We had three strikes during our visit, but we just kept going. Move to May 2013 we went to Normandy, Giverny (Monet's house and town), Champagne, Fountainblue and finally Paris for our 40th anniversary. Ok so we're older, but getting around in Paris seemed to be more difficult, not because we move slower, but because the crowds and the traffic in the city. Yes you could use the underground metro to get you close to the sites and we did, but Paris is such a beautiful city that public buses is another way to get around and enjoy the beautiful city. Again the traffic will affect your time at the sites. We could only visit a couple of sites a day. There was a transportation strike, but it only lasted a couple of hours. What? Why? Yep, two or four hours. The lines to get in any site were ridiculous and it seemed like everyone had the same time to get in. How French? LOL My suggestion is if you plan on visiting Paris plan for two sites a day. If you can get to three on your own go for it, but don't count on it. Try to leave walking around a neighborhood or a river cruise for early evening or night time.

I saw on the French news on September 15 that 400,000 were mobilized
to deal with September 18.

You misunderstood or didn't see correctly. On September 18, 80,000 members of the security forces were mobilized throughout France.

As for the 600,000 on alert on October 2 mentioned by Gail, that's a complete joke.