Trouble in France

[shilu]

Has anybody docked in Marseille amidst this unrest and are things OK?

[taglovestocruise]

Marseille is hot and heavy with problems today. Over 1000 arrests in Marseille today as well as a gun shop b being looted. Tear gas was also used in several parts of the city. Anti government protests today in the Old Port of Marseille.  When are you going, give it a week or two and things will probably be back to normal. 

[shilu]

We will dock 11th July so hoping all ok

[gumshoe958]

My instinct is that the trouble has now peaked. This weekend was always going to be bad but I suspect things will begin to calm down now. 

[Hlitner]

5 hours ago, gumshoe958 said:

My instinct is that the trouble has now peaked. This weekend was always going to be bad but I suspect things will begin to calm down now. 

Only time will tell, but we sure hope you are correct.  The problems in France (not just in Paris) are a long-time clash of cultures brought on by lots of immigration (legal and illegal), a history of anger/hate brought on by French colonialism, and the long-time French policy of of what I think is an exclusionary culture/lack of assimilation.  It is complicated and will not be easily rectified.  About 15 years ago, DW and I were driving in Provence and decided to head over to Arles to enjoy their weekly market (we love the French outdoor markets).  We were somewhat surprised (and shocked) to discover that the market in Arles was mostly North African in nature with very little evidence of traditional French culture (in terms of food products, merchandise, etc).  On the other hand, you can go to the fantastic weekly Sunday market in L'Isle sur la Sorgue (our favorite market in all of France) and see the traditional French Culture without a hint of the african culture found in Arles (both places are in Provence).  It is like being in two different countries with no solution on the horizon.

 

Hank

[Derbie]

We are currently on a cruise that will have port in La Havre. We plan on exiting the ship a day early to take a train into Paris to spend 2 1/2 days. Now we are very concerned about this. We are hoping things will settle down, before we exit the ship next Wednesday do any of you have any comments or advice?

[shilu]

My vrother is in Paris now, and unlike Marseille,  he says there are no issues, just an increased Police presence and security

[jsn55]

On 7/3/2023 at 2:43 AM, shilu said:

My vrother is in Paris now, and unlike Marseille,  he says there are no issues, just an increased Police presence and security

Your brother's the voice of reason!  The media thrives on awful news.  I was in Paris the first week of April at the 'height of the unrest' and saw nothing but a little stack of trash on a corner on my way from CDG.  We were there for a week and had no issues whatsoever ... took a HOHO bus all over twice.  Do a little reading; I've learned to avoid any area described as 'culturally diverse' or 'edgy' anywhere I travel. Paris had lots of police presence, no bad guys.  Might have been all kinds of stuff going on outside the centre, but nothing got in our way either on foot or a tour bus.  Just be alert and don't go wandering into any areas where you don't belong.  

Edited July 6, 2023 by jsn55
clarity