Protests in Paris

[Sunset]

Anyone in Paris wish to comment on the riots, I thought I would see a thread on this, but maybe it's too cold for tourists now ?

I read they are closing some of the main tourist attractions due to the large violent yellow jacket protests.

Seems like people there didn't like paying $6.00 per gal of gas.

 

[brewer12345]

All I know is what I read in the press, but it is expected to be a big enough deal that they have called up like 60,000 troops/federal police for this weekend. Doesn't sound like a fun vacation destination at the moment.

 

[Lakewood90712]

Anyone in Paris wish to comment on the riots, I thought I would see a thread on this, but maybe it's too cold for tourists now ?

I read they are closing some of the main tourist attractions due to the large violent yellow jacket protests.

Seems like people there didn't like paying $6.00 per gal of gas.

I am hearing bit's in the news the gov. is putting the gas tax increase on hold. Even so , when anger gets to the boiling point , it doesn't end so quickly

$6 us per gallon is a lot to US drivers, but others in the EU ? Even higher taxes on gas ?

 

[Bamaman]

It was $7.08 per U.S. gallon equivalent. And the president was wanting to increase taxes further. And so many of their interstate equivalent highways are very expensive toll roads anyway.

I don't blame Jacque Q Public for getting mad. Some protesting were sincere. Some protesting are unemployed and just don't have anything else to do.

 

[marko]

We lived in downtown Paris for many years.

We were there during the 2005 riots and were confused when friends from the US asked if we were coming home; there was nothing going on downtown where we lived. The "Paris riots" were actually 15 miles away so while there were riots going on, we were sipping coffee on a sidewalk.

Strikes, 'riots', car burning and rock throwing is a fairly commonplace thing there but it is generally localized and not usually in the tourist areas like this is. Almost every weekend downtown there is some road closure due to a demonstration against something; 500 people walking around with bullhorns and flags.

I called some friends today. They're pretty sanguine about it (typical French!) but didn't really comment on the validity of the issue.

Our personal experience:
Back in 2005 CNN kept repeating a montage of burning cars, rock throwers and Champs Elysee being barricaded with crowd control fences; implication being that the barricades were for the riots on the Champs. The only problem is that the barricades on the Champs was for a Veterans Day parade and had nothing to do with the riots.

So...we tend to take these things with a grain of salt. Not to say that it isn't serious...but it may be a bit overblown by the media.

The closing of the Eiffel tower is a regular occurrence as are cops carrying machine guns.

We do feel bad for tourists on their 'once in a lifetime' visit; sad.

 

[W2R]

All I know is what I read in the press, but it is expected to be a big enough deal that they have called up like 60,000 troops/federal police for this weekend.

I have heard everything is coming to a head this weekend and there are fears that things will be really bad, with many casualties. I don't know how anybody could know that in advance, but those are the rumors I am hearing.

I am just hoping for the best possible outcome, whatever that might be, with as few casualties as possible. I also hope that Paris survives intact with no damage to any of its many historical, cultural, and artistic landmarks and rich heritage.

 

[marko]

I also hope that Paris survives intact with no damage to any of its many historical, cultural, and artistic landmarks and rich heritage.

If Paris survived WWII, I think it will survive this.

Our experience is that there is a sort of controlled rage where the bad guys know how far they can go before souring their message. A sort of honor within thieves.

They'll make a mess, burn some cars, beat up some people/police. The media will make it look like the end of the world but in a few weeks it'll be like it never happened.

I hope I'm right; we've just seen this too many times before.

 

[brewer12345]

Selfish, but I am glad this is occurring across the ocean from me. Were it local, I would be sending the family out of town with the dogs while I battened down the hatches.

 

[Scrapr]

We lived in downtown Paris for many years.

We were there during the 2005 riots and were confused when friends from the US asked if we were coming home; there was nothing going on downtown where we lived. The "Paris riots" were actually 15 miles away so while there were riots going on, we were sipping coffee on a sidewalk.

Strikes, 'riots', car burning and rock throwing is a fairly commonplace thing there but it is generally localized and not usually in the tourist areas like this is. Almost every weekend downtown there is some road closure due to a demonstration against something; 500 people walking around with bullhorns and flags.

I called some friends today. They're pretty sanguine about it (typical French!) but didn't really comment on the validity of the issue.

Our personal experience:
Back in 2005 CNN kept repeating a montage of burning cars, rock throwers and Champs Elysee being barricaded with crowd control fences; implication being that the barricades were for the riots on the Champs. The only problem is that the barricades on the Champs was for a Veterans Day parade and had nothing to do with the riots.

So...we tend to take these things with a grain of salt. Not to say that it isn't serious...but it may be a bit overblown by the media.

The closing of the Eiffel tower is a regular occurrence as are cops carrying machine guns.

We do feel bad for tourists on their 'once in a lifetime' visit; sad.

We are in Portland (Or) now. In the Bush I Presidency it was called Little Beirut. And there are protests many summer weekends. A couple weeks ago we had a beautiful day in our neighborhood. Walked to the store, then across the street for lunch on a rooftop, then over to the pot store. Could not have been nicer. Get home & turn on the news? Riot in downtown. It was a mile or 2 away and we had no idea

I do hope they get the issue sorted (before I go back to Paris!)

 

[NW-Bound]

We lived in downtown Paris for many years.

We were there during the 2005 riots and were confused when friends from the US asked if we were coming home; there was nothing going on downtown where we lived. The "Paris riots" were actually 15 miles away so while there were riots going on, we were sipping coffee on a sidewalk.

Strikes, 'riots', car burning and rock throwing is a fairly commonplace thing there but it is generally localized and not usually in the tourist areas like this is. Almost every weekend downtown there is some road closure due to a demonstration against something; 500 people walking around with bullhorns and flags.

I called some friends today. They're pretty sanguine about it (typical French!) but didn't really comment on the validity of the issue.

Our personal experience:
Back in 2005 CNN kept repeating a montage of burning cars, rock throwers and Champs Elysee being barricaded with crowd control fences; implication being that the barricades were for the riots on the Champs. The only problem is that the barricades on the Champs was for a Veterans Day parade and had nothing to do with the riots.

So...we tend to take these things with a grain of salt. Not to say that it isn't serious...but it may be a bit overblown by the media.

The closing of the Eiffel tower is a regular occurrence as are cops carrying machine guns.

We do feel bad for tourists on their 'once in a lifetime' visit; sad.

In our 2007 trip to Paris, we heard there was a riot about something in a suburb north of Paris, but it was calm in the city.

This current riot is different though. I read that they defaced the Arc de Triomphe with graffiti. These guys are now in the center of town.

 

[VanWinkle]

It was $7.08 per U.S. gallon equivalent. And the president was wanting to increase taxes further. And so many of their interstate equivalent highways are very expensive toll roads anyway.

I don't blame Jacque Q Public for getting mad. Some protesting were sincere. Some protesting are unemployed and just don't have anything else to do.

Some protesters are just criminals joining the crowd for looting and burning.
We get the same here.

 

[Dd852]

I’m in Paris now. Yes, they are expecting protests today (Saturday) and a lot of museums and businesses are protectively closing. Otherwise, feels normal and the city is the city. Violence is always horrible wherever it occurs but what you see on the news is always going to be just a slice of reality.

 

[Kelor]

I’m in Paris now. Yes, they are expecting protests today (Saturday) and a lot of museums and businesses are protectively closing. Otherwise, feels normal and the city is the city. Violence is always horrible wherever it occurs but what you see on the news is always going to be just a slice of reality.

I hope you post more tomorrow!

 

[NW-Bound]

... Violence is always horrible wherever it occurs but what you see on the news is always going to be just a slice of reality.

It is true. But one likes to know where that bad "slice" is, in order to avoid it.

 

[Sunset]

Nice to hear the views of folks who have been or are there to put a perspective other than the news on it.
Hopefully even the rioters will realize destroying tourist/historical/cultural sites is bad for everyone.

 

[Scuba]

Unfortunately the media really exaggerates anything negative. A few months ago before our trip to Greece, there was a lot of press about riots and angry mobs of criminals in Athens due to the continuing economic problems. We saw no evidence of this during six weeks in several different Greek islands as well as over a week in Athens.

 

[Dd852]

Before I retired, I was a journalist for 25 years. My life was running TO problems... and naturally when that is what you do, that is what you focus on. Now I’m happily FIREd and I literally run in a different direction. As I mentioned above, DW and I are in Paris at the moment. Indeed, police were blocking one part of the route we were running in the morning, making it impossible (or truthfully just more difficult) to run on the Right Bank of the Seine... so we simply crossed the bridge and ran peacefully and happily on the Left Bank, the only down side being that DW has a real thing about retracing her steps and we had done the first half of the run on the Left. But if that’s our biggest problem in life....

 

[marko]

You can watch some of it live via Periscope. Here's one feed: https://www.periscope.tv/w/1jMKgOMqNLlKL?q=paris

What really was an eye opener in 2005 was that we got CNN Europe on our TV in Paris.
We also got CNN US via Slingbox which was using our own cable box back in the US.

ENTIRELY different stories of the same event. Completely different view of it. CNN US made it look like the entire city was in flames; "Paris is Burning!" was one headline.
They knew they couldn't BS the Euro locals so they were more accurate.

 

[marko]

And.....predictably, there is a separate, unconnected protest going on about climate change. It has nothing to do at all with the other protest. There's also likely a third protest about some labor concern.

Here's that link: https://www.periscope.tv/w/1jMJgOMEXVwJL?q=paris

 

[Chuckanut]

Earlier riot in Paris had to do more with ethnic difficulties, IIRC.

These are economic - the differences between the rural folks and the city folks. From what I have heard, the rural folks feel they are being left behind, forgotten and not cared for as well as the city folks. One lady interviewed was complaining that while she made the legal minimum wage, she could barely afford her modest life style and the new taxes are pushing her over the edge.

 

[gerntz]

I read France has the highest total taxes level per person of any developed country & the folks are saying enough already w/o increasing the gas tax. Sound like sensible people trying to get someone to listen & care imo.

 

[mpeirce]

For English speakers wanting to get a little view from there try:

https://www.france24.com/en/live

This doesn't seem to be the same type of protesting that is typical in Paris during the summer. A lot of this is taking place outside of Paris.

 

[deserat]

For English speakers wanting to get a little view from there try:

https://www.france24.com/en/live

This doesn't seem to be the same type of protesting that is typical in Paris during the summer. A lot of this is taking place outside of Paris.

That's the video I watched - very interesting interviews. I lived in Germany for seven years and traveled to France many times....driving mainly and some trains. I can understand the frustration of being left behind - Paris is a bubble unto itself - nice to visit and see the wonderful things, but many times very different from the French countryside.

OT: I've come to the conclusion that most big cities are very much alike - yes, they do have their unique aspects, but you could travel and stay in the same hotel chain and really not notice where you are due to the homogeneity. Where you get the true sense of a place is in its countryside - the smaller cities, etc. They usually still follow the older cultural traditions and want to maintain them. When I travel, I try to maximize my time in those areas to get the full effect of being in a different country.

 

[Nemo2]

OT: I've come to the conclusion that most big cities are very much alike - yes, they do have their unique aspects, but you could travel and stay in the same hotel chain and really not notice where you are due to the homogeneity. Where you get the true sense of a place is in its countryside - the smaller cities, etc. They usually still follow the older cultural traditions and want to maintain them. When I travel, I try to maximize my time in those areas to get the full effect of being in a different country.

+1

True Dat.

 

[RAE]

Earlier riot in Paris had to do more with ethnic difficulties, IIRC.

These are economic - the differences between the rural folks and the city folks. From what I have heard, the rural folks feel they are being left behind, forgotten and not cared for as well as the city folks. One lady interviewed was complaining that while she made the legal minimum wage, she could barely afford her modest life style and the new taxes are pushing her over the edge.

Yes, this is basically my understanding also. And I think you can include urban folks who feel economically left behind also. And these feelings are not limited to the French these days, obviously. Lots of places around the world are going through the same thing lately, or probably will be soon. "Main Street has not kept up with Wall Street" is one way some folks have described it here in the US. This has been discussed on the forum before. I just read an article the other day about how millennials in the US (and probably other developed countries) are earning about 20% less than the Baby Boomers did at the same stage of life, despite being better educated. You can see why some people are getting pretty frustrated.