We leave in 5 days for France. We'll be in Paris for 5 days on our own and then join a tour that includes a Rhone River cruise. I'm not worried about the tour--there will be folks keeping an eye on things and keeping us safe. But the 5 days we plan to be in Paris at an AirbnB--will we be in any danger? Will have trouble seeing the tourist sites? Thanks!
Posted by
7 posts
Yes, it’s safe, as long as you stay informed and take a few common sense precautions. I arrived in Paris on Thursday, the day of the strike/protest. I hired a car to pick me up at the airport since I knew the train wouldn’t be running and taxis would be iffy. I stayed in that night just to be safe.
Other than that, it’s hardly impacted my trip at all. The trash is being picked up. Where it’s still there (the Latin Qtr and a few other neighborhoods), it’s mostly been pushed onto side streets. I saw one small protest near the Louvre Friday night. All the tourist sites were open on all the other days (some closed on Thursday).
There is another strike planned for 3/28. The metro and bus don’t run on strike days, so you need to keep an eye on the news to be prepared and to know if there are any parts of the city you should avoid. Check the web sites before heading to a museum. It’s a big city, the protests are only in a few places and are peaceful until the sun goes down. Good luck.
Posted by
la la land...
1009 posts
Start each morning with the news of the day, namely the announcement of any protest marches that could interfere with your plans. Be prepared to change your daily plans on the fly to avoid protests. Some of the protest marches are huge, so you have to give them very wide berth. Be flexible.
Where is your AirBnB? In general, more protests seem to take place on the Right Bank than the Left Bank. That said, in December 2019, we got caught on the wrong side of a massive but peaceful protest on the Left Bank that we had to maneuver around to get back to our hotel in the 15 eme from the St Germain area.
Posted by
14 posts
The news stories do not represent all of Paris. In the 6th where we stayed for the past week, one would not even know that there were demonstrations. Of course, there were sometimes many police, gendarmerie, and fire brigade vehicles driving by to affected locations, but there were no problems.
As for the trash, yes, there were huge piles in the 6th. For several days on the sidewalks in front of our hotel it was piled up making it hard for the wheelchair to pass properly. But towards the end of our visit a few days ago, the trash was being picked up (by private companies paid for by the establishments) and the streets and sidewalks power washed. I've read reports of people seeing rats. We had not seen any so it's not as though it's rampant like what the news reports state. The same with the fires and so on.
Posted by
Paris
7304 posts
Transportation can be a hassle on strike days, but personal safety is not the issue. Riotous demonstrations will not catch you by surprise, they are typically the tail ends of scheduled demonstrations that follow an approved course. You do not just "run into a riot".
Ok, in the spirit of full transparency, the other day apparently a jogger and some Austrian teenagers were caught at the wrong place and the wrong time on place de la Concorde but I am sure that some common sense would have enabled them to turn away seeing the police presence! In any case, they ended up unscathed after a trip to the police station. It will NOT happen to you if you steer clear of demonatrations.
Posted by
US
41 posts
@cal Thanks for this update! We will be staying in the 6th soon, and I hope more trash will be picked up and sidewalks power washed.
Posted by
US
41 posts
One more questions to the previous posters; can you recommend a website that shows the ROUTE (waypoints, streets) of the protest or protest march?
Posted by
Cloud
273 posts
Protest March? Did you see the footage on TV. Man I would cancel; rats maybe running all over the place. Riots tear gas etc. Possibly anarchy according to Facebook.
Posted by
San Francisco
14980 posts
Seeing the footage tells me it's time to go over. Only if the US State Dept orders me as a US citizen not to go, then it is time to comply, isn't it? Otherwise, if not, one is free to go. C'est ça Paris !
Posted by
Mayberry on the Willamette
355 posts
Protest March? Did you see the footage on TV. Man I would cancel; rats maybe running all over the place. Riots tear gas etc. Possibly anarchy according to Facebook.
I see you have found our HOA Facebook page
Posted by
Paris
7304 posts
I see you have found our HOA Facebook page
I almost spilled my coffee. Thank you for the laugh!
Posted by
Paris
10210 posts
Me too.
If anyone is checking this post, please note that tomorrow (3/28) protest route is slated to run from République to Nation via Blvd Voltaire (with possible overrun going to Bastille).
Google RATP Trafic Info for details on metro closures.
Posted by
49 posts
All great information and exactly what I was hoping to learn about. I’m glad someone asked the question, which raises a few of my own. What’s the best English-language news source to look at each morning? If I was to hire a car, how would I go about doing that? We could get along with walking, for the most part, but getting to Versailles that way would obviously not be practical.
Posted by
11570 posts
france24.com for news in English.
Posted by
France Southwest
2338 posts
Another French News source in English::
Posted by
Minnesota
571 posts
Register your itinerary with the state department’s STEP program (Smart Traveler Enrollment Program). They will send you updates and alerts about the situation so you can avoid difficult situations.