Is Paris unsafe?

[SpringWithWinterWeather]

Not been to Paris for years. Is it really not safe anymore. Friends suggest avoid and try other cities such as Praque or Budapest.

Are they unreasonable?

Paris is as safe as any big tourist city. Pick pocketing is rife, but that’s not dangerous, just annoying - their whole aim is to take your things without you noticing and get away - they aren’t a threat to you. Be savvy about your possessions, don’t go to the banlieues and you’ll be fine.

I’ll tell you what it is. It’s right wing anti-immigrant propaganda and it’s out of control. Reform do it to London too. It’s disgusting

Snap, when I went and with my 11yr old too! It was amazing. We had a such a blast

The north can be dodgy and it has that reputation. I had my bag snatched when living there. If you’re going as a tourist you’ll be staying in a nicer area. I felt pickpockets were quite prominent and knew lots of people who had been victims so be careful in the metro etc. After saying all that I still wouldn’t say it’s unsafe. As a tourist it’ll be fine if you just stick to the nice areas and have sense. Big cities have always had crime and dodgy areas so I’m not sure it’s changed much.

Is this a joke?

Honduras’ homicide rate is roughly 25–35× higher than Paris/France.

Honduras: high violent crime (robbery, extortion, gangs).
Paris: mostly petty crime (pickpocketing, phone theft).
Violent crime risk is far higher in Honduras.

It just shows how people can’t regulate their feelings with actual facts!

Not so for places like kondon where crime rates and air quality are improving

What’s with all the recent anti city posts recently?

Yes and trump and elon do it. Its called decline porn and is made up nonsense

Another point, my neighbour who lives part time in Paris frequently sends me articles from the French press about how dangerous London is now, no go zones, Jews leaving in droves etc. My kids have lived in London for fifteen years and don’t recognise this description. The propaganda is two way.

I'm sorry but I find these "are cities unsafe" posts incredibly irritating. There seems to be such a lack of critical thinking, fuelled by overzealous reporting in the media. Like all the endless handwringing about stabbings in London.

There's some degree of risk inherent in visiting any large city. Paris, like any other large city, is not completely free from crime and risk. If you wander into a deprived area of town and you're unlucky you could be a victim of crime, as you could in London, Rome, Milan, Frankfurt, New York. Is it more likely to happen there than any other major city in a developed country? Of course not. You're not going to Khartoum or Tehran.

You can't live a totally risk-free life and you're not likely to be any safer if you spend your life living in a small rural market town. But you'll have a lot more fun if you occasionally push yourself out of your comfort zone and you'll learn something in the process.

Go, be sensible, enjoy.

This 100%. People are getting more ridiculous by the day.

It's infuriating isn't it?

I think its a combination of things:

a) Reform-fueled anti "Metropolitan Elite" rhetoric which boils down to thinking if you live in a city (mainly London or Birmingham) you're a decadent, woke lefty with too much money and not enough common sense
b) Juiced by Elon Musk's propaganda spinwheel and other bottom-feeding social media slop and the right wing press
c) People who have lived very sheltered lives and are less and less likely to leave their home town and actually experience a city for more than a day trip, we have a population which post COVID is already ridiculously anxious, risk averse and hostile to the idea of coming into contact with other people outside of its own family.

It felt very safe when I was there last year. Bad things can happen anywhere though so its up to you to be aware of your surroundings and not put yourself in any potential danger.

I am from a rough part of the uk though so tend to find most places in Europe safer than where I actually live. Even if they do have a bit of a reputation!

Ffs

are you the same person who asked if London is safe?

Personally I find the "it's safe as long as you take the right precautions!" posts annoying. There are lots of places you don't need to take those precautions! Why can't people just admit that big cities are almost always less safe than many small towns and villages? That doesn't make you some racist Reform lunatic, things have always been this way.

Equally though of course we mustn't over-exaggerate the other way, 99.9% of visits to cities like London or Paris pass off without incident.

The only European city I felt a little nervous in was Barcelona. No concrete reason or personal evidence, but just the sheer volume of people packed together on the streets I think.

No!!! There was a thread like this yesterday about London. Why don't people use common sense rather than just believing nonsense on the internet?
Like all cities, it's fine. As we all would anywhere, keep phones out of sight and look after your bags. That's it.
Paris is a beautiful city.... I'd go back anytime.

Safe. Make sure if you get Ubers that plates are the same in the app confirmation. Uber makes a bit deal about making sure you take all the steps necessary for security.

I just don't think that's true.

Firstly there is nowhere that you don't have to take any precautions at all. Walking around on your phone or walking down a dark alley late at night is daft anywhere.

In my experience small towns can be far rougher than large cities. If you walk around an average British market town at pub chucking out time and you're dressed up or visibly not a local you are at far greater risk than you would be in London or another large city, and that's before you get into the question of people out on the lash. Many small towns have far greater problems with street drinking and antisocial behaviour than London.

You will never have the problem of being an "outsider" or a "target" in London because everyone is in the same boat: it isn't somewhere where everyone has known everyone for generations and you won't get the "you're not from round here" thing. I can't speak for Paris but I imagine its very similar.

This.

Coming tomorrow "Is Rome safe?"

Just in case of what?!

I've been to Paris and Prague. Both are busy cities. Both have crime (although I've never witnessed any personally). Both also have millions of people living in, working in and visiting them every year who manage to survive.

And just to cover tomorrow's inevitable thread we can also apply this to Rome, Berlin, Madrid, Amsterdam, Brussels, Budapest, Athens and every single other major or capital city in Europe (and indeed the world).

It's fine. Be sensible with your phone and purse like you would anywhere, be it city or town. I imagine if you were born in a hamlet and Paris is where you ended up the first time in your life you ever left it would be terrifying. If not its just a busy city with lots to see.

But the OP is asking about Paris, Prague and Budapest -- all European capitals, not little towns and villages! It's not a question of taking the usual precautions in Paris, but not in Budapest or Prague. Absolutely there are precautions you'd take in Paris but not in some flyspeck in the Gers, but that's not what we're talking about here. There aren't any precautions I would take in Paris, but not in Prague, for instance.

And, assuming the OP is British and that she's familiar with London, there are no precautions I wouldn't take in London, where I lived for years, that I wouldn't be taking in Paris as a matter of course.

It’s as safe as any other large city. Just be streetwise. That said, I’d go to Prague or Budapest simply because I think they’re more interesting places to visit.

The only European city I’ve felt genuinely unsafe in was Barcelona, at night.

Naples is edgy and a bit rough but I didn’t feel unsafe.

Why not just scroll on by, if of no interest to you, instead of taking your valuable time to make several posts?

I tend to scroll on past a thread if of no interest. However, now you have got it off your chest, I hope you feel a bit better 🙂have a lovely day and try to ignore those pesky threads that irritate you.