Anyone currently there with a readout?

We're supposed to go next weekend to catch the Saints game on Sunday, Champagne Monday, Disney Tues/Wed, then back to Paris Thursday for the last few days of the trip.

We're likely going to cancel tomorrow while we can get full refunds for all but the game tickets. The 3rd world is burning it to the ground with no signs of stopping, and the worst area is where the game is scheduled to be played. The puppeteer's have already announced they're intentions to send their ******ed marionette's on another rampage this coming weekend.

They even managed to shut down the Louvre today, so the days of Euro protests remaining confined to non-tourist areas are done.

Sounds like you already have the read out.

Fortunately, my clients returned back to Texas from Paris right after the protests kicked off and their trip was uninterrupted.

This is what my colleague said yesterday (she lives in Paris):

The planned October 17 protests escalated into violent unrest in some neighborhoods, with further incidents reported afterward (the night Oct 18th for instance). The situation remains fluid.

Friends and travelers haven't told me they feel unsafe, but some parts of Paris aren't at their prettiest and it's best to check if the activities you have planned for your clients are still on. As a precaution, I'd suggest clients avoid Rpublique, Canal Saint-Martin and Chtelet for now, favoring the Left Bank or western Paris. They should also allow extra travel time while cleanup work and road closures continue.

If it were me, at the very least I would be looking to pivot from the time in Paris (especially if you have younger kids going). It may calm down (by sheer luck?) but the last thing I would want would be to get stuck in your hotel or worse when a protest (or riot) breaks out.

It is an organized insurrection targeted at all things Western in nature (art, religion, institutions, etc) fomented by the usual geopolitical bad actors. I would consider myself a target if I walked into the wrong area and would adjust my travel plans accordingly.

I checked in with a personal friend who lives in Paris today to see how things were going.

Thankfully, they are doing well! They shared that the recent disruptions have primarily affected the Place de la Rpublique area, along with parts of Chtelet and Opra. According to them, other areas of Paris are operating as usual. She is a photographer and her business is operating as usual.

I currently don't have clients in the city.

I just got back from Paris on Sunday. We were not personally affected by the rioting. We stayed in St Germaine Y Pres. Only thing that was inconvenient is they shut down the Metro Rail so you had to take expensive Ubers everywhere. We stayed away from the Arc De Triumph but went to all of the other attractions such as the Louvre and Eiffel Tower without any issues.

I follow Viking cruises and a lot of their Paris customers reports are no issues with violence. Most of the issues reported are on the right bank.

IndigoAg10 said:

---

I just got back from Paris on Sunday. We were not personally affected by the rioting. We stayed in St Germaine Y Pres. Only thing that was inconvenient is they shut down the Metro Rail so you had to take expensive Ubers everywhere. We stayed away from the Arc De Triumph but went to all of the other attractions such as the Louvre and Eiffel Tower without any issues.

---

Have heard that the government, I believe G7 or something like that is the way to get around inexpensively.

Any updates? We're scheduled to go on a family trip to Paris and Nice early summer. Sure hoping things calm down before then - but we've still got lots of time to change/cancel most plans.

We left Paris yesterday (to go to Geneva and beyond). We spent 3 days there and had zero problems. We were in the 4th-8th, 15th, and 16th arrondissements, took cabs, the Metro, and walked a ton. We spent one evening in the Latin quarter. We saw a strong police presence around the National Assembly and Notre Dame. We will be back there for another day in a week, and I am not going to alter our plans. We stay vigilant, and so far so good.

MAS444 said:

---

Any updates? We're scheduled to go on a family trip to Paris and Nice early summer. Sure hoping things calm down before then - but we've still got lots of time to change/cancel most plans.

---

Our best friends live downtown there. They say it's really a non issue, for the most part. We're visiting them over thanksgiving and they say no reason to change plans. FWIW.

Appreciate the info.