I’m betting this runs its course by February. Of course, in France, another strike/civil disruption is just around the corner.
Matter of scope, I guess.
Might want to buy the trip insurance though.
I was in France last week (Champagne, Paris, Lyon) and would say that for the most part it was pretty normal. As people have noted there were a few roundabouts with Yellow Vests holding signs and slowing traffic, but that was all mostly harmless. The evening of the big Saturday protests we were in Lyon just off the main square, and that got a bit gnarly, with riot cops, smoke bombs and some tear gas. But the disruptions passed pretty quickly, and we ended up back out wandering the light festival later that evening without further incident.
So as others have noted, as long as you avoid the big Saturday protest(s), it ought to be just fine…
Saw some yellow vests marching today on the streets of Paris. What we saw was mostly peaceful with a few of them blocking traffic for some time before moving on. As we were tasting wine in a shop we noticed some youngsters running away from the police, perhaps they had thrown rocks or something? At the wine shop the locals did not seem to be too affected although Franck Pascal (from Champagne) noted that France is going through a curious time. There were a lot of police in several places with 13 cars in a row near Bastille. In another shop the security seemed to be worried about the yellow vests potentially entering the shop but that did not happen while we were there. In the end the situation did not affect our time here that much. We certainly enjoyed the scenery, the culture, the food and the wine to the fullest and I cannot wait to return.
Perfect thread.
I’ve been to France twice, and Italy three times. I’d day F**k the French, and head to friendly Italy.
I really didn’t want to “go there” but it strikes me that France is increasingly intolerant of our kind.
That is an unfortunate impression. I have visited France eight times now, the most recent visit being last week, and have felt very welcome each time.
I mean no disrespect Tom, but I meant “our kind” to Dan in a way that I don’t think applies to you.
Wife just got back from a week+ in Toulouse. No issues.
We spend 5+ weeks in Paris annually and regularly visit the outer arrondissements and towns/villages outside the peripherique and beyond. I have never felt uncomfortable or unwelcome.
Ah, I got it. Yes, this category decidedly does not apply to me. The trend you mention is troubling indeed.
Unfortunately not limited to France.
During our trip, I NEVER once felt even remotely that people even looked at us funny. The only people I felt were annoying, were other Americans.
Not the Americans who are annoying, mainly the Russians and Chinese.
I am a fellow member of the tribe and have avoided France for many years because of impressions from the news media you are referring to until visiting last month which was right before the protests started. The most distressing thing was after seeing Facebook posts was turning on CNN and watching details of the synagogue shooting in a place that I used to visit often in my childhood because Pittsburgh was the closest place with a sizable Jewish population.
We traveled to Lyon and Burgundy before spending a week in Paris. We were pleasantly surprised by the hospitality.
We even did a tour with a Jewish tour guide, Edith De Belleville, who is on Facebook.
I would choose to live in Italy or Portugal part of the year instead of Florida but I would have no problem returning to France which we are doing for a cycling tour next June in the Loire.
Asking people here about whether it is safe to travel to France is akin to one person in Pakistan asking his neighbor if he believes it is safe to travel to Turkey. It is just a matter of perspective. Go, don’t go, but at the end of the day you are in charge of the decision you make.
Travel questions get asked here because many members go to France, and frequently. It is a valid question. “With everything I see in the news, what is it like in France right now?”
Of course “you are in charge of the decision you make.”. That’s why we ask for current information.
Exactly. The whole point is to gather information to make an informed decision.
+1
We are in Paris now. Have not once felt unsafe. Guy was sleeping one off on a metro seat. Cops immediately boarded train and removed him. For the most part even the crushing crowds around galleria Lafayette and Notre dame are well behaved and in a good mood. So far the only minor issue has been busted up ATMs. Almost all the ones on the streets have broken screens. We has just been using ones inside a building. And the graffiti s unsightly and kind of pisses you off as it mars the architecture that has been beautiful for centuries before the advent of spray paint. Honestly stepping in dog shit is a bigger worry to me than the yellow vests.