Anti-Asian Racism in Paris

Carry the umbrella in any event more for the rain. Good luck.

Try to map out and take the bus everywhere and avoid the metro (subway), that is where the crime is higher.
But someone stronger could take the umbrella from you and use it against you.

Hi Pinky,

Welcome to the forums. I’m so sorry that you have been harassed and even experienced violence. As an older Asian male I can say that I have never experienced anything that would cause me concern while in Paris or any of the European cities that i have visited. But sadly perhaps that comes down to being male and perhaps just luck. I will say that when I am in NYC I am on guard and alert to what is going on around me. I haven’t been to Paris is several years so hopefully some others will chime in. I do hope you get enough information to come to an informed decision as to whether you can comfortably go on your proposed trip.

Safe and happy travels

An Edith Piaf pilgrimage sounds like great fun! I hope you can enjoy it in safety and without incidence. Sorry you have to worry about it.

Side note, and not an answer you are looking for (I am neither Asian nor female), but I would love to hear more about where your Edith Piaf pilgrimage will take you. What do you plan? Where will you visit?

I’m not Asian… but i just spent a month in Paris like i do every year and i don’t think you’ll have any problems. There are sooo many French-Asians, and Asians in Paris you won’t stand out. My son’s girlfriend is Asian and she had no problems on the métro. The Paris métro is nothing like the NYC subway.

I am Asian American (Filipino). In my latest trips to Paris and France ( most recent was May 2023), I did not experience any anti- Asian harassment. But then, I am not a woman, so the chances of getting unwanted harassment is probably less. I did get the Roma people surrounding me trying to pick my pockets, and the aggressive street scammer trying to give me a bracelet. I did not walk alone at night, and with my wife we used the metro, sometimes late in the night. No problems. But I could see how a single woman using the Metro late at night might have problems. Not sure what to tell you. Maybe I didn't "look Asian enough" to warrant being targeted.
Also, I would not equate your experience with stupid, prejudiced Americans in New York City, with Parisians.
Forty years ago when I visited Paris, the Parisians were rude to me because I did not speak fluent French, though I tried.
I went to the French countryside and the people there were friendly and helpful. They told me that's the way big city people are. they got treated the same way when they went to Paris, because the Parisans thought they were country bumpkins.
I hope you have a great experience in Paris. After your trip, please let us know how it went.

As said previously, there is no specific racism against Asians in Paris. Paris is full of Asian residents and tourists.
And what Derek says is true, Parisians are generally more proud to be Parisians than racists and tend to consider non-Parisians living in the countryside as hillbillies or country bumpkins.

About Edith Piaf there is in Paris "The place to be", it's the bar restaurant "Le Vieux Belleville" in the 20th arrondissement (Belleville is the neighborhood where Edith Piaf grew up and began singing in the streets) where there are “Edith Piaf” evenings every Tuesday.

https://www.le-vieux-belleville.com/en/

Events Calendar:
https://www.le-vieux-belleville.com/en/program/

If you are a real fan you can also go see the house where Edith Piaf was born in the same neighborhood at 72 Rue de Belleville.
You can turn the crank of the small music box hanging on the wall

https://maps.app.goo.gl/777mQAZQwkKwDUT27

“But I could see how a single woman using the Metro late at night might have problems.”

I have never seen or experienced this in all the years i have lived in Paris and all the years i’ve spent extended time there.

Take the umbrella. It's magical thinking to think that an umbrella is a real deterrent but it is your talisman and it's handy in case it rains, which in October is very possible. In any event, I do not think you will be unsafe in Paris in most parts of town but I have no idea where the spots on the Edith Piaf tour are located.

Pinky, in your OP, did you mean you’ve had bad experiences in NYC or did you mean in Paris? It’s not clear. i thought you meant NYC when i responded above but now i’m not sure.

In your profile you say you’re a lover of France, have you been to Paris before?

Thank you all for your responses. I really appreciate them. I clarified my original question re: locations.

Just a little backstory which I will add to my profile page: I was born in San Francisco and raised in a combination of S.F., Seoul, Korea and Los Angeles. I went to U.C. Berkeley where they had a foreign language requirement; I chose French and it was love at first class. They had an Education Abroad Program so I went to Pau/Paris for my senior year. What a feast for the senses! I was a History of Art major so I was in heaven. Since then, I went back to Europe with my parents and siblings, different trips to France, Italy and Spain. My most recent trip was to France to do a Joan of Arc pilgrimage tour - Paris, Orleans, Domremy-la-Pucelle, and Rouen. I would still like to continue that one and go to Reims and Compiegne. Since I have become a singer/songwriter and as a big fan of Edith Piaf, I am planning a tour of her Paris sites for this October and will visit the following places:

72 rue de Belleville, 20th arr – born on doorstep legend
91 rue Rebeval, 20th arr – lived with maternal grandmother at 3 mo.
Church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Belleville, 139 rue de Belleville, 20th arr – baptized 12/15/1917
8 rue de Belleville, 20th arr – Aux Folies – 33 6 14 17 91 33
105 rue Orfila, 20th arr – Hotel Avenir – 1930 rented room with Simone
Hopital Tenon – 4 rue de la Chine, 20th arr – EP born 12/19/15
Pere Lachaise, 20th arr – Transversal 3
Metro Porte de Bagnolet, 20th arr – square with statue
Edith Piaf Museum – 5 rue Crespin du Gast, 11th arr, M-W 1-6pm, Bernard Marchois

39 avenue Junot, Hotel Alsina, 18th arr – Raymond Asso / Yves Montand
Grand Hotel de Clermont – 18 rue Veron, Montmartre, 18th arr – lived with Simone in 1929, then in 1948
A la cloche d’or – 3 rue Mansart, 9th arr – Edith dined with Marcel, 1948-49
Casino de Paris – 16 rue de Clichy, 9th arr, sang 1941-43
L’Olympia – 28 bl des Capucines, 9th arr, 1958, 1961, 1962, long sole billing

In front of Salle Pleyel – 252 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore, 8th arr, post death of Cerdan in 1949
Rue Troyon, 8th arr – spotted by Louis Leplee
Le Gerny’s – 54, rue Pierre Charron, 8th arr.
Boeuf sur le Toit, 34 rue du Colisee, 8th arr – favorite restaurants
67 blvd Lannes, 16th arr – lived there first floor

Moulin Rouge – 82 Bd de Clichy, 18th arr – watch dance
La Couple – 102 Blvd. Montparnasse, 14th arr. – ballroom in basement where she sang her heart out
Le Vieux Belleville – weekly EP night on Tuesday

The more research I do, the more I find. I may even perform on the streets with my guitar for the fun of it.

"Non, je ne regrette rien."

I have often traveled the metro alone as a woman -- decades ago as an attractive youngish woman and now as an old lady and never had the slightest issue, nor have I observed young women being hassled. There are lots of Asians in Paris and I have not seen them hassled on the metro either. Paris is the safest city for street crime I have ever visited.. I feel safer there than in small towns. (the only time I ever walked into a drug deal and was a bit nervous to get out of there was late at night in a small French village; luckily the dealer and customers were not afraid of my witnessing them and didn't bother me)

It's always wise to be cautious.

I'm loving, "The more research I do, the more I find. I may even perform on the streets with my guitar for the fun of it."

From what I'm learning on YouTube, it seems the biggest threat in Paris is pick-pockets. European pick-pockets take it to another level like an art form. I will be super-vigilant and aware and maybe wear a bag that goes inside my jacket.

I'd rather deal w a European pick pocket than a MUGGING in the US. (which is why I leave my passport in my hotel but that's another issue).

From what I'm learning on YouTube, it seems the biggest threat in
Paris is pick-pockets.

Pickpockets' favorite playground are tourist areas, such as the 6th, 7th and 8th arrondissements, the Eiffel Tower, the Champs Elysées, Montmartre, etc.

In most places you want to go in the 9th or 20th arrondissement there can be thieves like in all big cities but they are not of interest to pickpockets.

I challenge you to find a YouTube video of someone who encountered pickpockets in the Belleville neighborhood.

yes, the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower are two the best places to be pickpocketed. I know someone who got picked at Musee d'Orsay and there was 20K on his card by the time he got back to his hotel and noticed. 'Being aware' is useless -- you have to be pickpocket proof i.e. not have valuables in a pocket or carelessly held purse that someone skilled can pick.

Americans are good victims because it is not an American crime and so they assume 'being alert' is enough -- these professional crime families are adept and usually you. have no idea it has been done until you discover the phone or wallet gone.

I plan on having nothing in pockets and will wear a money belt/inside purse. The only thing I'll have in my bag is a water bottle and some plastic bags.

Some helpful videos on this topic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIWOJmGwUKA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PELssC1cAKk&t=10s

For anybody interested in how the more sophisticated pickpockets work there's always the old movie "Harry in Your Pocket" with James Coburn and Walter Pidgeon.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_in_Your_Pocket

It follows a team of professional pickpockets as they train new people and move around the World.

Though, reading Roger Ebert's review of the movie he said this film had better details of the actual pickpocket act.

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-pickpocket-1959

Hi Pinky. I didn’t see it on your itinerary but you might want to visit Edith’s grave at Père Lachaise Cemetery. Enjoy your trip.

The pickpocket issue is overblown. I take the usual common sense precautions, having the hidden pocket and the neck pouch on me, which is all of the "security" measures. I still carry a wallet and wear also the waist-belt, right up front below the belt , obviously noticeable. Other than these normal security steps, being alert, having situational awareness, that's it....basically , not interested in the pickpocket possibilities, not a big deal to me. .....not going to happen.

In the 13th Arron. you see Paris' own version of "Chinatown." There is a better one in the 20th Arron, I have been told, rightly or wrongly. As so accurately pointed above, you should have no concerns at all about sticking out, standing out etc for the reasons given above, but if you did, "eh alors?"

Your post was curious enough for me to type in umbrella as a weapon on YouTube from which I got many results. There is even a tactical umbrella. I appreciate your concern, and perhaps it is not so much a concern in Paris, but in NYC you carry one. You say you carry your umbrella as a deterrent. However at some point it may have to be actually used. It would be good to have some knowledge about how to do so.
I would encourage you to delve into these videos so you have a working knowledge and not only a symbol to carry around. Knowledge is power. As a deterrent you are only hoping someone sees it and thinks it could be a weapon and thinks then that they will not attack you. That is your interpretation of why you are carrying one. However, perhaps that person does not see your umbrella as a weapon. Or maybe not enough so to second guess themselves. Using your umbrella then may come into play. So learn to do so. It will give you more confidence that would indeed be warranted more so than simply carrying it.

I completely agree with you Fred, well said.

Pinky definitely has Edith Piaf's grave on her list . . , she even listed the section of the cemetery where it is located.

An anecdote for a little comic relief: I carry my umbrella around when I take my daily walk in Hell's Kitchen. Some guys on a stoop remarked that I looked like I had a Flintstone vibe, i.e. caveman carrying a club. I laughed out loud.

My brother-in-law, who is into martial arts says Jackie Chan uses his umbrella as a sword and a shield, so it can do double duty.

I will watch those videos. Thanks for your input. I don't anticipate anything happening, but I do agree that knowledge is power.

I remember that in the 70s the umbrella was an accessory used by the Bulgarian secret services to eliminate dissidents. It was used in the Paris metro to try to kill a journalist...

JoLui, true. 1978, Georgi Markov, killed by the Bulgarian Secret Service with a poisoned umbrella tip in London.

They were the stooges for the Soviets, doing their dirty work.

Mrs. Peel had John Steed along who always carried an umbrella, very English. One can choose to do that in Paris if that helps in not being afraid. I would not do it, first of all, not afraid, ie, afraid of what? Secondly, not interested in being afraid.

I always remember that conversation in France in August 1984 near the Hotel de Ville (don't recall the city anymore, it was not Paris but east of it) when that French woman all of a sudden in the conversation bluntly shot the question at me: "What are you afraid

of?" She was absolutely right.

Pinky, I love the Hell's Kitchen reference as I have family there.

Be aware that "Asian" in Europe is more frequently used to describe those who hail from the Arabian Península eastward to Bangladesh, rather than those who come from further east still (and their descendants). And my experience is that, especially for Muslims, they are not particularly adored in France. So perhaps the bigotry is more fully reserved for that cohort of the human race. I hope you never encounter any such negative sentiments, and honestly I'd be surprised if you did.

I envy your joie de vivre and your love for Piaf. May you find communion with her spirit on your upcoming trip!

Another tip I discovered to avoid pickpockets: I use Google pay from my watch to avoid having to take out a credit card or cash. My valuables stay secured out of sight.

I think that racism towards those you describe as Asian is more prevalent in the US than Europe. Asian, in the European context, generally refers to those from the Indian subcontinent, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh and there is much more prejudice against people from that part of the world than those from east Asia.

It's not possible to generalize about all of Europe due to different colonial histories. In France, prejudice toward people from the Indian subcontinent is not a factor since the population isn't very large. It's very different from what JC says, which I assume is the case where he lives, England.

In France, people who are pegged from the subcontinent are called Indu--French pronunciation for Hindu, no matter which country or religious affiliation because the population is so low. There is some distinction for people from Reunion Island, Maurice Island and Mayotte, all overseas French territories in the Indian Ocean.

People from East Asia are called Asiatique. Perhaps someone will say Chinese out of ignorance, when in fact the person is American or Japanese. Overall, I've never witnessed any problems or heard any derogatory remarks about either group.