Paris is Safe and Well, Thank You!

If you watched CNN or Fox News as I did a few nights before, maybe we were impressed by the student demonstrations in France.

Both TV channels, we were sold on the idea of Paris was mobbed the angry crowd. Pictures of Mad Max-like police trucks hosing thousands of protesters. Scenes of massive gatherings around Bastille square. Talks about disgruntled students. Some pyrotechnics to boot!

Golly!

Although I often travel to Paris, I live in Florida. So I had to wait until the next day before I could call relatives and friends in Paris. I got Vince first. Vince is always a reliable source, he got the local pulse. When do I get the lowdown on all-things-Paris, I made ​​of it in the first place.

"Hi Vince, it's Phil. Alas, how is it now? Have you lived through the night

"Hi man, what are you talking about?

"Well, I think, demonstrations and all. mayhem.

"Oh yeah, so what about them?

"Well, I was on CNN yesterday, and they were showing all this mess with the police, and students and cars on fire!

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"Come on, man, you can not tell me anything that happens there

"Well, there was a demonstration, for sure. Students in the streets. But that was yesterday ....

"You mean, it's more

"Sure, buddy. The guys did not like what the government handed over, got guys on the street, guys vented their anger, the guys go home and watch TV, end of story.

"Oh. But about the cars burned? I mean, we've seen on TV!

"to hell with TV! You'll see several cars burning, and you think that this war?

OK, it was Vince's input. Type reassuring.

Let's ring the family. I wanted to talk to Lolo, my brother in law. Lolo's army firefighter 15 years, he's cool-calm-collected, and he is used to assess the disaster with a cold eye.

"Lolo? Hi, this is Phil.

"Hi bro, Whassup?

"Hey, I just want to hear from you, you know, demonstrations and disorder in Paris.

"Yes, it's a sport.

"You mean, they wreaked havoc in

"No, I think the sport to get to work on my scooter. I mean, some of the streets near the Bastille Square were jam-packed.

"But what about the protests, I think, showed us stuff on TV,? it looked like a crime with cops and their trucks

!

"It was towards evening, not during the day. I was not far from the demonstration when they were full on. the students were assured that the loud crowd, but hosing only started in the evening, and lasted samopar hours.

"What about cars burned?

"There were a few. Less than in November, during the events in the suburbs.

"Not much. And how is it now?

"Quiet. Everybody's home, like nothing happened.

"You think demonstrations are over?

"Sure. I rode in Paris today, and it was business as usual.

"Is it safe for Americans to come? know I have this website, Paris-Eiffel Tower-News.com, and give travel advice to people. Is it safe for them, or should I just tell my visitors to postpone their travel plans to Paris?

"This is as peaceful today as it was before the protests. Come and see yourself if you do not believe me ."

Oh, I certainly believe Lolo, he has served 15 years as a firefighter in the army, and saved many lives. He used to serve in Paris too, so he knows the place like the back of his hand.

but I figured: I will not risk sending visitors to my website Destination hell. I want proof. Strong evidence that everything is over, and there is nothing bad going on now in Paris.

so I called Serge and Tony, two friends who are in the video operations.
"Guys, can you do me a favor, and shoot a short video for my visitors, with the date and time on it? want to see Paris as it is today.

Serge and Tony are very cool guys, and they sure obliged.

This is a video sent to me:

It was filmed in Paris, 01:00 to 14:00 on the 3rd Travanj 2006, in a variety of well known places: under the Eiffel Tower, the Alma bridge, on the Champs Elysees Avenue, on Place de la Concorde, at St Germain des Pres, St Michel Blvd, near the Cluny Museum, Notre Dame, on the island Cite , near the Louvre and Orsay museums, near the Opera, and finally, right in the neighborhood department store.

What this shows is exactly how Paris is at this point. Business as usual.
So how is it that we saw such a mess on TV, and it seems that no trace of it today?

For one thing, student protests rarely last. They put together quickly and melt even faster. What we see on CNN and other news channels is the live-fast-die-fast phenomena.

What's more, the TV and the media rarely report quiet endings. 'News' is drama, war, crimes, and the like. Valid endings never make the news.

student protests of 28 March were shot while they all just went home after sunset. Then they became much less newsworthy. Or so I think a big honchos at CNN, Fox News, and the like. Do not forget people, these guys think of y'all, crowd. So shut up and watch.

Third, the French are Mediterranean in character. argument breaks, tempers flare quickly bird names are exchanged, and suddenly all the drama .... Then things will continue the regular course, everybody shares a glass of wine, and the argument is soon forgotten.

The French government tried to bring law students and unions consider as a threat to job security. When he later felt this law was forced into his Gullets no negotiations, their temper flared, and in no time they were down the street. But it ended as quickly as it started. flash in the pan. Within one day, it's more.

There is only one regrettable fact in this: heavy-handed, scandal-happy, war-loving news reporting gives us the false impression that France is "a dangerous place to travel these days ."

Yet, had TV cameras continued rolling and spent just as much time showing Parisians had returned to their peaceful lives, such impression would have been quickly dispelled for what it really is. 100% false

and so it is the privilege of regular Joes like me and other honest-to-God travelers to report a happy ending: everything is fine and dandy in Paris, people. You live life as they plan, and if you want to travel to France, just do not bother too much with the news.

PS - Paris is a big city. The demonstrations were largely directed along certain boulevards: Nation-the-Bastille, Nation-to-Italie, Bastille and Republique and Bastille-to-Châtelet. Look for them on the map. See all the space around these places. Well, it's your own playground in the case of new protests occur when you are in Paris. The fact the media conveniently omit to tell you. It would not sell.