Is France and Europe over run by immigrants from the Middle East and North Africa?

No it’s not.

BG's comment is concise and accurate. No need to say more, except don't trust all You Tube videos..

Good Heavens --- Absolutely NOT -- No more than the US is over run by immigrants from Mexico. Why are you viewing disturbing videos on YouTube?

No, Like any immigrant group, there are neighborhoods that largely consist of that group, but those are not places where tourists are likely to end up without a specific reason.

The immigrants you see on the sidewalk or the Metro are just going about their daily lives of work, grocery shopping, going to the park with family and friends, etc. and probably have a certain crankiness about tourists who keep getting in their way as they try to do those things.

Troll somewhere else.

Thank you so much everyone! The vids kept on appearing on my YouTube "recommended" vids. Maybe 'cause I watch vids of Europe reminiscing about my '12 thrip to Paris, Provence, and the Riviera. They are disturbing; probably made to scare people that the European culture and people are disappearing.

Claudia: I am not trolling. Just very concerned.

Just remember -- there is a lot of Fake news on YouTube. Learn to discriminate.

If I were a European, I would probably be concerned with all my Youtube feeds telling me, "Don't go to USA! Everybody is armed with automatic weapons and want to kill you".

What I would be more concerned with, is that your searches have pegged your paranoia and are "suggesting" vids that will confirm your bias. Smart people know how it is done and are happy to feed your fears.

What’s disturbing is that these contrived videos that leave out context and other information are poping up on your screen. They have been made and promoted by certain groups over the years to scare us. Others over the years have come here to inquire about safety and linked to propaganda videos they’ve seen. How are they showing up as suggestions? By bots or something?

There are a lot of illegals, but not in places tourists go.

First off my immediate response was “ are you kidding “ , but I am going to try and be kind and understanding as I am learning Americans are being flooded with propaganda and vilifies everywhere but their own country .

I just returned from Paris , London , and Spain ( Alicante ) , we were not overrun by any one .

This is probably a good example of how corrosive social media can be...if you watch one YouTube video on something, you'll keep getting "fed" recommendations for similar content. This is how people get into bubbles where they tend to overestimate the true incidence of some event, and they get paranoid due to confirmation bias (because how could there be 5 separate videos all saying the same thing, right?).

There is a simple antidote. Do real research instead of relying on social media if you want to learn something like immigrant #s across different countries. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) compiles all sorts of data, including on European countries. If you scroll down on the link, you can see if the migrant inflow as a share of population (and judge for yourself whether it would be anywhere near an "over run").
http://www.oecd.org/els/international-migration-outlook-1999124x.htm

And if it were, so what. We are a nation of immigrants. I live in a city with many immigrants...again, so what. Differences are what makes life interesting; differences, energy. And the food...!

^^^ What Wray said. ^^^

Wray - well said. :-)

"No, Like any immigrant group, there are neighborhoods that largely consist of that group, but those are not places where tourists are likely to end up without a specific reason"

More's the pity because those are areas where the food, music, fashion and street art help make Paris the vibrant, alive, dynamic city it is. But I guess many people visit Paris expecting it to be the set for Woody Allen movie.

Ditto there all kind of warnings issued by other countries about the possibility of tourists being murdered by mass shootings in the USA especially after the incident in Las Vegas

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/20/travel/vacationing-in-the-united-states-be-warned-some-countries-say.html

LOVE the responses on this forum!! Seriously.

More's the pity because those are areas where the food, music, fashion and street art help make Paris the vibrant, alive, dynamic city it is. But I guess many people visit Paris expecting it to be the set for Woody Allen movie.

A lot of times, it takes a local friend or other connection that knows the area well to pick up the subtle differences between vibrant and reasonably safe working class area and dangerous area, and if I don't have a 'fixer' then I'm inclined to give that part of town a pass because I know what I don't know. (I went to school in DC in the 90s and have had other jobs that have taken me to the bad parts of town in other places I've lived, and I know it takes more than a tourist's week in a place to figure out the local vibe for different neighborhoods and suburbs of that sort on one's own.)

I've also never seen a Woody Allen movie. My impressions of France from afar largely come from Tour de France coverage and watching English language France 24 once or twice a week.

I've viewed many disturbing videos on YouTube about this subject.
Would love to know others' impressions.

You've watched YouTube videos and that's your concern? Be wary of traveling in the US too especially NYC. We're "over run" by immigrants from the Middle East, Africa, Asia (not just the Middle East), South America, Europe, Australia, North America....but not Antarctica.

Is France and Europe over run by immigrants from the Middle East and
North Africa?

Selkie has a good point. Our own spidey sense depends on what is normal in our part of the world, and where we hang out in it. One way to assess your safety is to look at the women and children around you. If they seem comfortable, are walking at a normal pace, and give their kids a bit of space, it's probably OK for you, too. If they're hurrying past and keeping their kids close, they're either fearful or late to get dinner on. If there are no women and kids, but only young men staring, it's time to go.

Many of the people in France one identifies as immigrants because of their "looks" are actually French citizens from France's colonial empire with a many generational history of residence in France and French citizenship. This becomes clear when one visits a French WWI or WWII cemetery and sees under the legend "Mort pour La France" Senegalese, Algerians, Moroccans, Tunisians. The visitor can not really tell which are immigrants and which are French nationals. These neighborhoods are not necessarily dangerous as immigrant does not equal danger. The immigrant population in France besides those from the Middle East and North Africa includes those from Portugal, SE Asia, Serbia, Russia, the UK, Italy, Spain, other EU nations . . . the statistics are easily found on the web.

No more than the US is over run by immigrants from Mexico.

Unfortunately, too many Americans in Trumpland think that's true.

I guess many people visit Paris expecting it to be the set for Woody Allen movie.

But sometimes it's true. Many years ago my wife and I were walking back to our hotel after dinner, and as we crossed the Seine there were a lot of people and bright lights. And there was Woody Allen doing a scene from an upcoming movie.

A lot of times, it takes a local friend or other connection that knows the area well to pick up the subtle differences between vibrant and reasonably safe working class area and dangerous area,

A very good point. Amny years ago, we were visiting friends in London, and one morning I decided to take a walk by myself to find a nearby shop we had all gone to the day before. I walked and walked (I eventually realized that I had made a wrong turn right at the start), and eventually came to a bustling neighborhood that was basically all black people. I decided after awhile that I had clearly turned the wrong way, but it was interesting to see the area, with lots of outdoor market stalls. I later realized that it might have been Brixton, an area that had been in the news a lot then, and if I knew that, I'm sure I never would have gone.

OP: the answer is NO ; not sure the exact concern of how it will affect your trip but forget whatever video you saw and carry on about your day.

I can tell you this, my friends, living in various sections of the country were concerned because of all the rioting here in NYC, because Trump was elected. I work in mid-town, a few blocks from Trump's home, there were no riots, no fights, just people protesting that America had made a very bad choice in the election because they were believing You Tube videos and believed everything that was said. Before I believe any of the garbage that is out there, I try to verify it with at least 2 major news sources. The news is not FAKE, not because the reporters are upstanding individuals or they have a higher moral compass than the rest of us, but the major news sources (CNN, CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, NY Times, NY Post) all have a team of lawyers employed to keep the companies from getting sued. That is the bottom line, the almighty dollar/euro.

I know a few of the African and Middle Eastern immigrants that overrun the NY and they are actually quite nice and educated individuals. Open your mind to people, it is a life altering experience.

There are isolated areas with an outsize population of immigrants but it's far from "over run". I did see a Middle Eastern refugee camp in one section of the Canal Saint Martin in Paris. It's was somewhat unsightly because of all the tents. On the outskirts up by Basilica Saint Denis, there is a more settled immigrant population. It wasn't the nicest neighborhood in town, but I never felt unsafe. Otherwise it was business as usual everywhere in the city.

Every larger city will have a population of immigrants. Like every wave of immigrants before them, they start out in the lowest rent areas of town because it's what they can afford initially. I'd say there may be times and places you notice a lot of immigrants. Other than that it's not a big deal.

There are subsets of individuals who get their news from cable news sources, from network news sources, from print materials, from magazines, from radio, and from television.

Each of these news sources have their strengths and their weaknesses. A reader may prefer the NYT or WaPo, or Fox News, or NPR, or Foreign Affairs, or National Review. Pick one, or many, and make your decisions based upon your critical review of the various sources.

Others get their news from YouTube. YouTube is NOT a news source. It is an entertaining web address where videos exist to peak our interests. Only last night I watched "America's Got Talent" on YouTube. Great fun, and it is a wonderful source of entertainment. Please, please don't pretend that it is a news source.

And now, I'm going to reveal a secret I vowed not to ever reveal except to my closest friends. Areas of Paris (Paris is part of Europe) in transition are the most exciting areas of the city. The 10th Arrondissement is one such area, and it is a cacophony of smells, sights, and sounds. It is vital and in flux. Rife with immigrants, the restaurants entice and the street life is dynamic. Immigrants from the Middle East and Africa are everywhere, and I won't stay in any other area of Paris BECAUSE it is the way it is.

As RL Stevenson said, "It is better to travel hopefully than to arrive."

France and Europe are over run by American (and Asian) tourists.

Oh, Emma, thank you!

Why do so many people equate immigrants with criminal activity? I'm sure the current rants coming out of Washington trying to convince everyone that they are bad criminals isn't helping.

The vast majority of immigrants simply want a better life than what they had where they came from. Like most of our ancestors when they immigrated to the US. I'm sure there are some trying to sneak in who are up to no good, there are bad people in any group, but entire populations should not be labeled as unacceptable.

You Tube is not the place to get real news from. If it was, I would believe the earth is flat, Russians can't drive, zombies are being covered up by the world governments, and if you get closer than 10 feet to anyone else on a US highway they will slam on their brakes jump out of the car and proceed to start shooting at you. (These topics are all recent videos suggested for me., why I don't know.)

Hi,

Thanks to everyone for their responses. I've left this topic up to dispel the propaganda found on YouTube and other sites. As this thread is taking more of a political turn, I'm ending it here. Thanks everyone.