To have found certain parts of Paris edgy

[Sheeled]

I stayed in Belleville, which was ok. Walked ina respectable area today, there was a guy possibly in his 30s, clearly.not right mentally verbally harassing and jostling people asking for money. Didn't see much police presence anywhere.

There were big groups of men, many of whom were shouting at each other and again many looked quite unwell, around the main train stations.

Large areas around the stations smelled I mean really smelled of urine.

A lot of people seemed really unhappy and afraid.

Don't know if this has always been the case or are we simply talking about some areas. I dont think Ill be visiting again in a hurry.

Paris is a big city like any other. The areas around major railway stations are not often renowned for their glossiness.

Yeah, some parts of Paris are sketchy as hell, much worse than London, I think. The main tourist areas are okay, but without local knowledge, I wouldn't venture outside of them personally.

I felt the same about parts of Birmingham...

Yeah its a city what did you expect

Paris has always had very dodgy parts. I lived on the outskirts for a few months and couldn’t get on the RER train ever without being chatted up by someone distinctly dodgy either on the platform or train. I’ve felt more dodginess and danger in Paris than London or New York or Barcelona or pretty much anywhere else in Europe or North America.

that said I visited recently for the first time in a while and the central parts were clearly given a good clean for the Olympics and with traffic largely replaced by bikes it was generally a much more pleasant place to be than I remember

Yanbu though, it will still have super dodgy parts I am certain

This definitely

Birmingham is like a tale of two halves

Most cities are like that, tbf.

YABU. We can’t possibly know what stations you visited (all of them? Why ?). Some are dodgier than others (Gare de l’Est), but usually major railway stations tend not to be the nicest areas whatever city you’re in. Termini, Waterloo etc.

I live here, and wander around quite happily. Haven’t noticed large amounts of unhappy and afraid people.

Exactly my point.

Yeah they are i think with Birmingham I've only ever been once and it was really noticeable but that was perhaps our fault as we should of researched more and not just casually wandered round

They aren’t much worse than London! It is perfectly safe to leave central Paris.

All cities have sketchy areas and it's not a new thing.

We were in Paris last week with our 15 year old grandson. There were a lot of men hanging around Gare du Nord trying to sell cigarettes but we felt totally safe travelling around the city. Our grandson loved it.

I got pick pocketed on the metro about 10 years ago.

A gang of teens surrounded me, swiped my purse and left the carriage before I could work out what was happening.

I'm a seasoned London Tube traveller of 40+ years and can only think of 2 incidents with dodgy men.

I've not been a fan of Paris since.

You are right, many parts of Paris outside of the main drag are beautiful and quite safe. It's the lack of local knowledge which can lead you astray. I've lived in both cities, and the crappy bits of Paris are considerably worse than the shit bits of London imo.

I've put YABU just because I dont understand why this would be a shock to you? Have you never visited a large city before?
Paris can certainly be edgy by European standards. No more so than London or Rome or Prague etc etc
Its a real city not just a quaint museum

Paris have always smelled of piss. Not just stations but pretty much everywhere. Garre du Nord used to have a massive open-air urinal outside (weirdest thing I've seen! Is it still there?)
Having said that, I've not seen many unhappy and afraid people around. Were they all tourists, perhaps?

Yes, I felt unsafe in parts of Paris, as did my DH. Most cities have sketchy bits but Paris seemed more threatening and seedier than other European cities, and that threatening feeling seemed prevalent in larger areas than other major cities to me

Of course there are seedy areas; do you know a city without any?
I was in Paris a few months ago. Never felt unsafe, and never noticed any unhappy or afraid people.

Belleville is the Hackney of Paris. Historically poor and seedy, but now increasingly hip with every day that goes by.
Hackney can be a bit overstimulating too, as can "lived in" bits of all big cities.
I'm curious to know where you yourself live, if you don't know this?

I’ve had a similar experience in Guildford.

I love Paris but I agree that it seems sketchier than London in some parts. It’s been like that for a very long time.

I am also wondering where you live, and how much time you spend in cities in the UK?

You chose to stay in a cheap part of Paris. It's not for tourists. You chose it. Yes, it's a bad neighborhood and quick Google search tells you that. Blame yourself.