Yellow Jackets and Rue Cler

I don’t have answers for you specifically for rue Cler but I loved your headline. It made me picture a bunch of angry yellowjackets (wasps) buzzing down rue Cler.

Judy,

The yellow vest movement seems to be losing steam, so they may not even be a problem in May. I'd probably wait a few months and see what the picture looks like then.

I thought you were talking about bees attracted to the food and flowers of the Rue Cler street markets! I think you mean yellow vests.
If the yellow vests are near Rue Cler, I recommend staying near Rue Mouffetard as their market was superb and in the 5th Arr.

I doubt if the Yellow Vests would have the guts to take on the guidebook-wielding Rickniks defending the Rue Cler! It would be a battle royal for sure though. ;-)

Unfortunately I would caution against thinking that that the Gilets Jaunes movement is winding down as this weekend they were indeed burning cars and scooters in the St German area and even forced their way into the government spokesman's office (also on the Left Bank).

However, I find it hard to think that the government won't have a handle on this by May, but I may be hopelessly naive.

In any event, unfortunately I have absolutely no useful information to offer you for May. I would say that up until now MOST of the sites where they would be "protesting" have been known; however it is a sad truth that there have also been surprises when they've popped up here or there. I would guess, however, that the odds of being where they pop up WHEN they pop up in any given "unexpected" place have to be small, of course that's little comfort if you're one of the few UNlucky ones!!!

P.s..i've seen a few English-language press organizations referring to the movement as Yellow Jackets instead of Yellow Vests. To my mind, Vests is a much more accurate translation and representation, but the OP has definitely seen references to Yellow Jackets.

My projected trip time table is to be in Paris mid-May at the earliest, where I'll be staying at Gare du Nord.

I thought maybe Georgia Tech was following the lead of the NFL teams that play in London and was playing a game in Paris. I just edited this to remove the possibly controversial part of this!

Ramblin' Wreck of Georgia Tech!

@Kim, re yellow jacket / yellow vest
The garment in question is called in the UK a "High Visibility Jacket" or just "Hi-Vis jacket". See here (a UK website): https://www.screwfix.com/c/safety-workwear/hi-vis-jackets/cat850534
The AA (Automobile Association) website in their driving in France section says "You must carry at least one reflective jacket" ( https://www.theaa.com/~/media/the-aa/pdf/touring-tips/france-monaco.pdf )
A vest is an under-garment worn under a shirt.
So translating "Jillet jaune" as a "yellow jacket" is reasonable. "Hi-Vis jacket protests" just doesn't have the same ring to it.

Is this is a UK/US difference?

"Only reason les gilets jaunes would go over to rue Cher is that Macron lives right near there, or he did, according to RS."

Yes, he did live on Rue Cler. I was in France at the time of the elections in April/May 2017 and there were squads of security guards at this building. The locals told me it was indeed the Macron residence. Interestingly, a friend was having a glass of wine at Tribeca, the next block up and in walked Madame LePen and group.

https://goo.gl/maps/QBzJB1XcSQz

"Is this is a UK/US difference?"

Yes. We would call the hi-vis sleeveless garment worn by bikers and road workers a vest. For us it's an outer garment not an under garment. I would refer to my sleeveless polarfleece or down outerwear as a vest as well.

For decades I have had to wear a HiVis jacket when cold and Hi Vis vest when it isn't for work on the railways (British). When wearing the jacket it goes onto a hook in my driving cab, when wearing the vest it gets rolled up and goes back in my bag of tricks. The jacket would never fit. Besides, the jacket is thick and insulated against cold (keeps me warm walking down the line in the freeze-up) and fairly heavy and stiff. The vest is flimsy and has one purpose in life - to keep me safe. When issued it is referred to as an item of PPE - Personal Protective Equipment.

Chris — Yes, in the U.S., we wear sleeveless jackets on the exterior of our clothes, and call them vests. Larousse giives the translation for gilet as first, a piece of clothing “waistcoat (UK), vest (US),” then second definition as an undergarment, “vest (UK), undershirt (US).” So what you say is exactly spot on. We Americans think of this sleeveless piece worn on the outside as a vest, which is why I translate gilet in my head that way (as vest) without even realizing why; when of course British English speakers would arrive at jacket equally naturally.

I’d be surprised if the demonstrators ever showed up on Rue Cler unless they stopped in for an aperitif after raising Cain on the Champ de Mars or at Les Invalides. In fact I’ll be surprised if they’re still on the streets by May. The numbers are getting smaller and I think this last weekend’s violence was a sign of weakness. The movement is trying to rekindle itself by provoking a police overreaction. Don’t be anxious about your trip. It’ll be fine.

We used to have a regular Parisienne poster here who said that the Rue Cler was known (derisively) by some locals as Rue Rick Steves.

I don’t get it with the continued Rue Cler bashing. It’s a perfectly delightful neighborhood. Yes, there are other places to stay in Paris — other market streets. And, those are great places to stay. But, Rue Cler is fine and plenty French. Just park yourself on a street side table in the afternoon and watch the parade of kindergarten kids with their parents, grandparents, and babysitters. Or, duck into one of the little shops and chat up the clerk while you’re making a purchase. The Parisians who deride it as Rue Rick Steves are just envious.

Here’s the deal bj—the 7th is very conservative old money. So it makes a kind of safe, squeaky clean place for American tourists. Since I hadn't been over there since the 1970s when I was teaching a very rich woman English, I got my Parisian husband to walk over with me recently. It’s not a big deal place, but it’s comfortable and rings all the bells for Frenchness. But it is a bit of a contrast to have pro-weed, backpacking RS advocating for a neighborhood full of conservative bankers, royalist aristocrats, and captains of industry who live in their closed world. The only other drawback is that the 7th is acentric to a lot of sites and dead after 9 pm.

Protesters know where the monied and powerful live. Will they protest over there again? I’ll ask my crystal ball.

IMO Bets make good points.
Sure, I stayed in Rue Cler on my first visit, just like a lot of us here.
But there are numerous other places to home base/sleep in Paris, and the locals know it. And so does Rick, just read his stuff.

In fact, I'll bet many people on this forum actually are secret sleepers in the 20 or 30 neighborhoods of Paris, other than Rue Cler, that are deserving of home-basing.

You don't have to keep going back to one place but can branch out and try other experiences.

Love the Rue Cler, have a great time. Happy travels!

Yes, I’m fully aware of the conservative nature of the Rue Cler area. After many, many trips to Paris over many years, I’ve had the chance to visit most of the more popular lodging neighborhoods, so it isn’t out of inexperience that I choose Rue Cler (if availability permits). It’s just personal preference. I don’t mind if other people choose other areas. I just think it’s unwarranted to make people feel as if they’re being rubes for choosing this very nice area. It’s especially unfair to first timers. Rue Cler is fine. It isn’t Paris on training wheels. It’s Paris.

Rue Cler is ok but I feel it’s unfair to first timetsnto not point out it’s not that convenient of an area as far as being a bit dry as a transport hub - and to sometimes I see Hoyle suggestion requests and the posters are so upset they can’t get a room in the RS Rue Cler hotels suggested , like this the only place to stay .

In over four decades of visits I’ve never stayed there , and in fact only visited it once about 5 yrs ago and was underwhelmed .

Admittedly, I had never heard of Rue Cler but then I don't use the RS books either. I decided to see that place for the first time in 2010, yes, in a way interesting but also I was " underwhelmed." You do see a good number of Americans there but that might have just been chance as it was in the afternoon I was passing through it.

I don’t get it with the continued Rue Cler bashing. It’s a perfectly
delightful neighborhood.

I can only speak from my experience. I'm not bashing it; I'm wondering about its attraction as I found Rue Cler to be sterile & quiet especially compared with Rue Mouffetard!

You do see a good number of Americans there but that might have just
been chance as it was in the afternoon I was passing through it.

Probably was not chance; blue and gold guidebooks may have been in sight.

I stayed on Rue Cler in September 2018 and there is really nothing to "draw" the yellow vests into this area unless you walk over near the Eiffel Tower which is a 10 min walk. The street is full of restaurants; flower, meat and cheese shops; schools (elementary and university) and basically a neighborhood for locals. The hotel would be able to tell you if there were any demonstrations in the area. I would go and enjoy every moment and not worry about what may happen.