Wondering if we should cancel our April trip to Paris and Brittany

I leave for Paris with my 15-year-old son this Saturday. Have no plans to change. Might there be some changes (possible train strike) yes...but the doom and gloom from the US news is just that. Don't believe the hype. The fires that kept being shown were from one location and a specific protest. Not all of Paris is burning. This is my two cents...

This is from a European News Source, Euronews:

https://www.euronews.com/video/2023/03/21/watch-piles-of-rubbish-in-paris-after-a-16-day-strike-by-bin-workers

https://www.euronews.com/video/2023/03/21/watch-demonstrators-gather-in-paris-as-pension-reform-definitively-adopted

https://www.afar.com/magazine/paris-2023-pension-protests-what-travelers-to-france-should-know

Honestly, I live here in Paris, I have no vested interest in tourism, and I can assure you it is fine to travel to Paris at the moment. The main risk is if your travel to/from Brittany coincides with a major strike day leading to cancelled trains. But we'll know in advance (leaving enough time for alternative arrangements), and the risk of a strike in France is never zero anyway!

I'm leaving in less than 3 weeks for independent travel in Netherlands, France and UK, then a tour in the UK. I'm not rethinking anything in France. Like you I've been there before when there were protests and was not really impacted. There is not a garbage strike in the arrondissement where my hotel is located. If the Metro is down I can walk to everything or change plans (no, not gonna walk to Basilica Saint-Denis, hahaha!).

This is my 4th post-Covid trip. I traveled to France (Paris and SW France) in Oct 2021, France, Belgium, Netherlands in April/May 2022, Italy in Sept/Oct 2022.

Maybe you are just feeling a little rusty with travel?

editing to add: @ Mike. I've had the AFAR brand come up on several searches lately but I've been curious about "who" they are. I've read the verbiage on their website. The "advisors" seem to be travel agents. I'm not sure I really would want them to be a "news source" for myself but I may be wrong. It looks a little like their stuff is written by ..gag...influencers, lol but I'm not sure. Are they familiar to you or did they just come up on a some searches?

I think the call has to be yours. If it is going to cause you stress beforehand and until you get there, only you can decide whether it is worth the cancellation - or change. But, is it worth the possible financial loss and stress of trying to cancel, change, rebook the current plan? As you already have had the experience once, remember how it made you feel and decide from there.
I remember dropping Barcelona from my Spanish trip in 2017 when they were in the midst of their Catalan illegal vote and the resulting protests and problems. I didn't want the worry of what I would find when I got there, and have no regret taking Valencia over Barcelona.
Post Covid travel hesitancy or insecurity has been experienced by many. We lose our travel chops and worry more that 'something' is going to go wrong. And I will admit, for me it took a domestic, and a 6 week international tour trip before I felt confident that travel was back being a part of my life. If that is adding to your concern, it isn't going to go away by canceling this trip. Consider the positives. You have been to Paris before. You have been there during past protests. You know the area and the temporary changes, so this is not uncharted territory. Trust yourself to get through it again. But if it is causing lost sleep or real issues, then ditch it.
(how do you feel about getting an airport hotel the first arrival day to regroup, catch up on some sleep, and figure out how the city is reacting on those given days?)

When going abroad, I ‘register’ with STEP.state.gov. We rarely receive any notifications. Ones we have received were not close to where we were, just the same country.

Suki, you are very well traveled. Please don’t let this interrupt a possibly great trip.

When I saw the fires in Nantes and Rennes too, I was alarmed. But nothing has stopped me before( except for being hospitalized.) Thanks for your voices of reason.

I think the call has to be yours. If it is going to cause you stress
beforehand and until you get there, only you can decide whether it is
worth the cancellation - or change.

DITTO

I'll be in France in a couple of months, the earliest the end of May.

I don't expect the strikes and demonstrations to be over with by then but would be surprised if they were. No way, I am rethinking this solo trip to France,...top priority, having been there last in the summer of 2018.

If I canceled my plans on visiting Paris because of these events, I know French living there, at least one, who would throw this question at me: "What are you afraid of?"

For what it's worth, protests are typically more violent / radical in Nantes (especially) and Rennes than in Paris. Nothing unusual! And nothing you cannot easily avoid.

Here's a bit of perspective:

This evening maybe around 9 pm, all of a sudden I heard what clearly sounded like protesters somewhere in the vicinity of our apartment building.

I turned on the TV, and BFM was showing "a mob of protesters" on the Cours de Vincennes -- which is exactly where we live.

I went out on the balcony and looked down the five buildings or so to the Cours and indeed saw some protesters.

My goodness, I thought, I wonder how many there are !

Then they turned north up the rue des Pyrénées -- and I realized I could see the entire mass of protesters -- in other words, there were maybe 40 or 50 people marching.

Yeah they had a couple of banners and yeah they were chanting slogans, but as a group they were almost comically small. But they were being shown far and wide across France as protesters on the Cours de Vincennes in Paris.

I kept BFM on for a few minutes and noticed they were also showing footage from another French city of ONE trash bin burning.

I mean, this is just getting absurd. Yes, people are protesting and yes a few are acting like idiots -- but it's very localized here and there. But the craving of the tv news for video keeps them sharply focused on those few idiots.

Was the burning near Madeleine real on Thursday night ? Heck yes. But this simply is not happening all over, all the time.

Now, tomorrow is going to be a mess as lots of workers re-intensify their strike action. But I don't know about anything else.

I’m not going to either Paris, Nantes, or Rennes on an upcoming trip, and not taking a train, so I’m going. You need to do what’s best for you.

To quote “Paris is ALWAYS a good idea”

I'm in Paris in 3 wks or so; other than worrying about a mass strike (including airport personnel) the day I arrive or the day I leave, I'm not worried in the least. (And to be clear, if i had to extend my trip by a day or so due to a strike, oh, well, the horror...). But, I also booked with Air France (directly), so there's plenty of flights, and i have travel insurance as well. Watch out Paris, I'm coming and eating all the croissants! lol

In the early 1980s I had some long talks with a professor from France on exchange here in CA about the revolution of May 1968, at which time she was 21. and studying at the university. I was a mere freshman in junior college at the time.

As wont of that generation she was part of the French Left (however one defines that) and proud of it. She took part in mass demonstrations where the marchers linked arms line upon line marching forward in Paris. She told me those were moments of mass solidarity, exhilarating. just a great feeling. Totally understandable in terms of the history.

I hope the Macron's government now does nothing indicating overreaction because that would be the sure fast way for those French, who up to now have been disinclined actively to take to the streets, ie fence straddling, to pour into the streets in dramatic sympathy with those already demonstrating. Bravo !

We leave next week for our first trip and definitely not cancelling. I’m keeping an eye on Air France that’s my biggest concern I’ve read lots from folks in Paris now saying all is okay it’s safe and just avoid certain areas. Go and have an amazing time that is our plan.

A little personal perspective -- so take it as one couple's story, because that is all it is! Right now we are on a multi-week trip, about half of which was originally meant to be in France, starting in Paris. In a post-COVID world, we almost exclusively book cancelable reservations, and so -- with a couple weeks to go before departure -- we dropped all the France portions and switched to Spain and Italy. There was a little out-of-pocket expense upfront, but our new plans cost much less than our original France itinerary, so it has evened out.

Some might suggest we were way too Henny Penny -- that our trip would have been fine. So, we've watched our original flights and trains to see what might have happened. Our flight to Paris would have arrived on time; our train out of Paris would have been cancelled. We also had a back-up plan to fly out of Paris on a low-cost airline -- also cancelled. About half of our subsequent moves by train would have happened as-planned; about half would have been cancelled. Most museums, churches, etc. would have been open; however, many are on or near areas that have been used to stage protests, so several days would have involved workarounds (or, perhaps more accurately, WALKarounds...) Given the locations of our accommodations, I suspect some nights would have been very peaceful for sleeping; other nights were likely pretty rowdy -- of course, you can say that about most weekends in major cities!

Bottom line: We probably could have rolled with all of that, but we didn't want to -- we didn't want the stress of "okay, is today another strike day, or protest day, or bad news day?" Like you, we've planned this trip a while, but the cloud of constantly monitoring and wondering wasn't worth it to us. We are having a wonderful time in Spain and look forward to each day with anticipation, not worry or dread. It was 100% the right call for us, and perhaps, ultimately only for us. Who knows...? But I thought I'd share since you asked...

News coverage always seems to sensational the worst. Suki... you are an experience traveler I hope you have a great trip!!! Let us know when you return!

I am in Paris now. Just had the most beautiful day. Did I walk by some garbage? Yes. Did I run into any manifestations? Not one. Just be smart and use the internet to help you determine where and where not to go.

Roads, airports and stations blocked by unions as France faces more pension strikes

https://www.thelocal.fr/20230323/french-union-militants-block-access-to-paris-airport

https://www.thelocal.fr/20230322/what-to-expect-from-thursdays-pension-strikes-in-france

High-speed and regional trains, the Paris metro and public transportation systems in other major cities were disrupted. About 30% of flights at Paris Orly Airport were canceled.

The Eiffel Tower and the Versailles Palace were closed Thursday due to the strikes.

https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/anger-at-macron-mounts-as-french-unions-hold-new-protests/

Another on-the-ground report: where I live in the south, the demonstrators gather and then set off from the street below my apartment. A few weeks ago, it would take 1.5 hours for everyone to pass by. Today, it took about 20 minutes. And the trams were running, something that hasn’t happened up till now. I didn’t keep track of the planes and trains today, but last night, 50% was predicted. Our city was running normally.

I find these newspaper articles, just as Kim found the BMF news broadcast making a mountain out of a molehill. A small demonstration at Terminal 1 is not a widespread movement.

It’s hard enough to judge what’s happening even for us. But from overseas, you are dependent on these clickbait news articles. It’s too bad because they are cause people to jump to conclusions.

We’re traveling to Paris in April 14. Never occured tomus to cancel. We are just staying in Paris so we will work around the disprutions.
BTW, we are in Tel Aviv today. After the attacked 2 weeks ago people kept saying we should cancel. Everything was set up and paid for, so we went ahead. We are having a wonderful time.

Fully agree with Bets.
I actually was at the protest a few hours ago: I was close by and wanted to join for a little bit. It is interesting to watch and, if you avoid the front end and especially the tail end, it is safe - you can leave at any time through any side street.

The main thing that could indeed be a hassle to travellers in this period are intercity transportation disruptions. They are significant on some days and they can wreck a tight schedule, especially if you are not at ease with the tools you can use to reschedule. "Two and a half weeks" in your case, Suki, is not a tight schedule, so it seems like less of a concern.
But if you can postpone for free or go somewhere else, why not.

I also agree with Bets, that “THIS TOO SHALL PASS.”

100% with Bets that trying to glean actionable information from external news sources is a huge problem in situations like this. However, it IS possible to follow French news sources, which we did for several weeks prior to our aforementioned decision.

This is Google News for France:
https://news.google.com/topstories?hl=fr&gl=FR&ceid=FR:fr

It is very easy to use a translation app or website to quickly convert the page and each article into English. Personally, my favorite sources were Le Monde; RFI; Franceinfo; Le Figaro and oddly, Huffpost. Anyway, open a bunch of stories on the topic and see what's being said across them. Sometimes you hit a paywall, but the totality of information is what is useful.

Well, count me in the group of people on this forum who actually live in Paris/France and can provide a counterpoint to the way over sensationalized international media reports of armageddon occurring in France at present. Rome is indeed burning when you focus the camera on Nero fiddling amidst the flames but if you don't also show Rome not burning to the left and right of Nero then you're not getting the whole story and Rome is pretty OK for the most part.

France has a population of some 67 million people.
The unions are saying there were 3.5 million French participating in the national strike— that’s 5% of the country, Officials put the number closer to 1 million which is 1.5% of the population. Given that a lot of the French were upset with raising the retirement age ( it was opposed by 65%) , but perhaps even more were upset with how it was accomplished at the last minute without a vote of the National Assembly— it seems the emotions behind today’s big strike might dissipate after the week ends.
Today, the unions called for another national strike for next Tuesday, March 28.
Stay tuned….

Re: " Paris is always a good idea " How true. C'est un endroit.

The present events are not even close to May 1968.

It was reported by the CNN woman in Paris , assuming her information is accurate, that the strikes, demonstrations carry the approval of 70% of the population, ie, 70% oppose the pension reform. If that is accurate, all the better....bravo !

To me it’s similar to the pickpocket posts. Ten of us tell an anecdote of having an attempt, or someone we know was pickpocketed, and the result is 10 victims out of 10 stories or 100%. Without relaying the number of people who have had no incidents, we’re distorting the figures and giving the impression that everyone is pickpocketed. That’s how we scare the be jimmies out of new visitors.

It’s the same with the news stories. Five cameras shoot the same fire from different angles and you think there are five fires. Meanwhile, nobody is taking photos of strollers in Luxembourg Gardens or of people slurping chocolate at Angelina’s. The real situation is distorted.

The one real problem is if you are trying to travel by train but 30% are canceled.

Bets, I tried to follow the math and got a headache. Could you explain it to me like I was in third grade?

We do have some train travel which is a concern.

Charles and Camilla canceled their state visit. But I think they will gather more attention than you will (LOL)

In one sense going over to France now is the right time, a moment in French history.

My trip earmarked at the end of May is still on track, regardless of the present state of affairs caused by the ill-advised, short-sighted move to push the age back to 64.

Do that in France, the crowds will hit the streets, almost a given, in light of the tradition, institutions, etc and rightly so. Bravo. !

With the CGT calling for an expanded strike for 28 March, that 70 % will reveal the deep level of disaffection and opposition. I wouldn't underestimate the power of the CGT.

Bottom line...if one knows what to do in crowd avoidance, that can be done.

because it will be embarrassing for the big cheese Marcon having a banquet in Versaille whilst the sans-culottes are rioting outside.

I'm thinking Camilla will end it all with one phrase......Let them eat cake

*I am not advocating for any harm done to Camilla

We are traveling to Europe in mid-May with Paris being our first stop. I have to admit that I've been a bit worried, not so much about violence, but more about a rail strike that would prevent us from continuing on our journey. After reading the posts here, I feel much better about our time in Paris. I do have trip insurance, so I guess if we can't make our departure date, the worst that could happen is that we will be spending more time in my favorite city.

The rental car seems a good idea. We’re traveling in France now and the main problem is that I planned the trip entirely around France’s “excellent” rail system. We’ve had to switch to rental car for one leg of trip and may have to do that again, quadrupling our transport costs. If you’re already planning to drive, you should be ok.

Protests in France against Macron’s pension reforms escalate as police use 4,000 nonlethal dispersion grenades
More than a million people protested since Macron said he would increase the retirement age from 62 to 64

https://www.foxnews.com/world/protests-france-against-macrons-pension-reforms-escalate-police-4000-nonlethal-dispersion-grenades

With the caveat that we have not traveled internationally in about 3.5-4 years, therefore, I have not purchased Travel Insurance..........but, I would be surprised if the provision that EXCLUDES payment due to issues caused by civil unrest and the similar (like acts of war, etc.) is not still an exclusion. Something to consider.

Actually many comprehensive travel insurances DO include civil unrest/war, and include evacuation… however, there are often specifics that may not necessarily be a given for every itinerary, even if one finds themselves in such a situation, for example the war/unrest usually involves a travel warning level 4, or a terror attack, inability get to the airport due to unrest.

Just happened to look at Travel Guard's "strike list" for an entirely different trip being planned, and I happened to notice the French Pension Reform Strikes (impact thereof) is listed as an exclusion (any travel claim related to that cause). Remembering Suki's post, I thought I would throw this out there for what it is worth.

I noticed Travel Guard, who I am almost positive used to post an "end date" when such exclusions were removed, does not appear to do that anymore. My GUESS (but I have no idea) may be that they might just delete them from the Strike List when they no longer apply (thereby exclusions removed for newly insured). Something on which clarification should be sought if any insured readers are concerned.

It was always my understanding, too, that if one purchased trip insurance before TravelGuard added such to a strike (or exclusion, in the case of providers that might be listed for financial issues) list, then one is covered...just that they would not provide new coverage without the exclusion once it was added to their list. But, I say that with "dated" knowledge, having not traveled in over 3 years. As we plan a trip, I am getting into the granular details myself, just to make sure some things are still the same, and to be enlightened on what has changed.

The local news here in SF reported that 13,000 police have been mobilised for these strikes and demonstrations. If the percentage of opposition to the pension reform stands between 66 to 70%, (within the margin of error), I am looking for even more to pour into the streets as those up to now on the fence decide to quit the straddling and become part of the determined opposition. Bravo !

I'm keeping diligent watch on the news tracking the events as to the way my travel to Paris could be affected, a relative minor inconvenience as I expect trains to be canceled, etc.

Unlike the events of the "revolution" of 1968, when the middle class were alienated, this time the middle class are among the disaffected and taking to the streets.

In our 80’s. Doing a Tran Atlantic cruise to Amsterdam. Planned to spent a week in Paris. Not now; don’t need last minute alternative planning nor piled garbage. Love Paris, but maybe next year.

the garbage strike is over.