Is it safe to go to Paris now w/ the strikes?

Are you staying in Paris or are you planning on driving around France? If you are staying in Paris you should be fine, if you are planning on driving you might have trouble finding fuel, a lot of stations are out or running out.

we were planning on staying in Paris. I've heard that the airports (inc. De Gaulle) there are having fuel problems and flights are being canceled.

Safe in relation to your own personal safety: You're as safe as can be. As it pertains to your ability to access reliable transportation without any threat of delays or inconvenience: Forgetaboudit!

Plan on doing lots of walking and have several Plan B's and Plan C's on the itinerary. Like my mom always used to say, "A bad day in Paris trumps a good day at work." Relax, go with the flow, and have a great time!!!

This is from the Washington Times......

PARIS (AP)~~~ France's transport minister insisted Sunday there was plenty of fuel for planes at Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport, despite strikes that forced aviation authorities to order some jets to arrive with enough fuel to get back home.

We just returned from Paris and felt fortunate to get out of the city due to extreme gas shortages caused by the refinery blockage by strikers. The RER to the airport was not running and we were just hoping the taxis had enough gas to get us to CDG airport. Right now I would not go to Paris or anywhere in France until this strike is settled. Our plane going to Paris was full and yesterday coming back was only around 50% full.

I have a trip planned with my 11 year old daughter, and I am really nervous and I am thinking about backing out! Does any one have any advice? I just dont want to get stranded any where or be in a situation with my child.

Jessica Look at the dates of the posts before you get too worried. Things are much calmer now. I haven't heard any recent stories of people being stranded.

We are in Paris right now, in fact we have been here since October 11th. We have seen a couple of the protests. Altho there were a lot of protesters, the feeling was almost "fun". And there were a great deal of TV coverage. Today is supposed to be another planned national protest, but I have not seen nor heard anything about it. Has it been cancelled or just fizzled out? Personally, I wouldn't cancel.

Go! Have fun!!!! We went and found that the American media is making a mountain out of a mole hill. The strikes had little to no effect on our vacation. We were there for the Oct. 28th strike. The only inconvenience was that the Arch de Triumph closed a little early that day due to the strikes. Nothing else was effected. The subway ran smoothly and wasn't over crowded. It was a great trip. Don't be afraid! Gas is available in the suburbs, people just have to drive a little further to get it.

A friend of mine who was in Paris last week said that she was really glad that she had booked a two hour layover. Why? Because a group of strikers blocked the way to the terminal she had to get to, adamant in spite of her entreaties. ...This caused her to exit the terminal she was in, catch a cab whom she first had to plead and plead with, and take that cab to the second terminal. .... Because she had two hours before her next flight, she was fine (except for her anger----which she did not display) but would not have been able to make her connection if she had not had the extra time.

You'll be fine in Paris. Our corporate media exaggerates foreign strikes because they often don't understand that they're a normal part of free enterprise.
Strikes here have sadly been virtually eliminated because of much weaker unions, so we're not as used to working around them. Paris is very easy to adapt to--you'll love it.

We got back last thursday. Flew in through Nuremberg went to Trier but had to find our own way to Paris from Trier. (We planned it that way.) We had no strike related problems getting from Trier to Paris. In Paris. The hotel said there were some cancellations. But it wasn't too bad. The metro was running. The Louvre, d'Orsey and Cluny were open. No strike related problems. I did book a transfer to CDG at the hotel. There were some delays at CDG security. But due to heightened security, not strike related. Over all after the trip to Paris from Trier and 3 days in Paris. I don't remember any strike related problems or delays.