?La Republique, is it safe place to live???The Whatsapp message read?
I wasn’t sure how to respond to my dear friends message. She was collecting information for another dear friend of hers in the US.
Republique is a central area of Paris where you’ll find Place de la Republic connecting the Marais, Belleville and Poissonniere neighbourhoods.?
So I was honest replying ?I?m here so I?d say it?s safe. But maybe if I was elsewhere I?d be asking the same questions? Was I being a bit too honest? Shouldn’t I be keeping the dream alive as a writer and event planner catering to the international community??
Truth be told; Paris does feel safe to me.
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And I’ve never been one to love Paris half-assed. I see the glam and the grim and I love it for all it’s parts and characteristics?- not just Pinterest Paris (who remembers this article?).?
There are a few factors that run through my mind when I talk about Paris and safety, especially after the attacks of last November.
To many, and perhaps you are one of those people reading this – Paris has always been a dream – yet to come through. Or a dream that you can relive over again with the access of a plane ticket.? You know all that good food, romantic architecture and blazee customer service is still here – and thank heavens! Because after all where would Paris be with out it?s charm of tradition.
I feel that Paris, like any major city is safe (or as un-safe) as any major city.? It just depends on who you listen to and from where.
I know for a fact some visitors last year were worried, as they should be! Come on we can?t just pretend like things will be back to ?normal? from one day to the next. For example I remember having some clients (coming from abroad) cancel events, to? evenings?walking my son back home from school?on the popular streets in the Marais where people would flood the streets to buy falafel, hop in and out of shops and enjoy happy hours to seeing ?like No ONE on Rue des Rosiers!?? ?
Luckily, today you wouldn’t even know (on the exterior, I suppose perhaps the finial departments of the hotels and restaurants would say different) that we had a monumental catastrophe.? Actually I?d be curious to find out if the government is helping the tourist industry with some sort of financial help due to the attacks? I’m going on a tangent here. Bon?bref.
So yes, Paris feels safe, because it feels like normal. Back to the regular activities – including an occasional pickpocket here and there (but remember this is a big tourist city, what would you expect – crooks are smart!)
For the most part I can go and cycle around anywhere and feel “safe” in Paris.
In the news and around dinner tables, we?ve moved on to the heavy subject of immigrants (which I should probably write my next article about) and elections here.
Many seem to be busy sipping their Cafe Richard en terrasse, reading Le Monde? and passively people watching or just trying to live their version of the Parisian Life; working, studying or just living.?
These are my opinions, and I am no way an expert in urban living or sociology but it does seem that Paris will always be Paris.
Have you been to Paris before and after the attacks? Did you see or feel a difference?
