I understand they are just protests but intermixed amongst them are vandals burning cars and throwing things. Also the police are responding back forcefully.
Can anyone vacationing over the past several months coinciding with the yellow vest protests tell us how safe it has been?
Any advice what to do? We are traveling bw april 26-may 5.
Thanks
A good place to start?
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/safety-in-paris-given-recent-yellow-vest-activities
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/the-past-5-weeks-in-france
I will add that May 1st is a National Holiday (Labour Day/May Day) so there will be a lot of museum and business closures. I might expect some large protests on that day (there were some last year) but you can usually just avoid the areas where those are scheduled or mostly likely to occur. Pretty sure our resident Paris experts will have the best info on that one. :O)
A protest is not covering dozens of square miles that you cannot escape from. It is a street, an intersection, a plaza, and easily avoided with a little awareness. Years ago we bumped into protests in Spain and it was easy to walk in another direction. We were never bothered in anyway. Now, if you are nosy and hanging out on the edge of the crowd, that is a whole different situation. Don't do that and you will be fine.
This doesn't answer your question about the gilets jaunes but....the Jacquemart-Andre Museum IS open on May 1. There are also Paris Walks programs as well if you are looking for something to do on this day.
Hi. I also have this question.
We (late 50s couple) are arriving in Paris on a direct flight from Seattle on April 29th, will be visiting with a friend who has been living in Paris on the 30th, and then leaving early on May 1. Staying in an Astrotel hotel about 3-5 blocks north of the Arc de Triomphe.
Is staying in that area going to be problematic? Any issues with/ comments on the best way to get back to CDG airport early on the 1st (so we can catch our Austrian Airlines flight to Lviv?) Our flight leaves at 10, so I was thinking we should leave the hotel by no later than about 6. Is that enough time?
Are demonstrations only occurring on Saturdays and/or Sunday? I am also staying within 2-3 blocks of L’arc de Triomphe. I cannot find much information on the Internet.
Those of you who are not responding to Jay's questions should post your own new questions on the France forum. It can become too confusing to answer questions from multiple people traveling on different dates or with different plans on the same post.
It also may be nothing more than guesswork to predict what may occur several months from now.
Hi Jay,
Regarding the 'Gilet Jaunes' riots, they only occur on saturdays. So any other day of the week, there should be no protest.
May 1st is usually a day when unions protests, so it should be the same in 2019.
However, both Yellow Vests and Unions have claims against the governement and journalists, not foreigners or tourists. If you happen to be near a protest, just walk in the opposite direction and you should have no problem.
V.
