FenwayTim

Flying AF SFO to CDG next week with the family and was curious how bad it is or isn’t in the city??… This might not be the right place to ask this question but I didn’t see anything updated on this topic in the general travel section or anywhere else… (ironically there was a thread from 2014-2016 about strikes in Paris)….. So i posted here.
We see the images and read the stories which could be sensationalized, so thought i would ask the locals or anyone who has traveled there in the past few days. We have been to Paris 8 or 9 times but this was a special trip as we are going to Boudreaux too and have the full family in tow along with my sister who has never been.
I emailed the concierge at Prince de Galles and they said most of the protests and fires were in non touristy areas but we would probably notice all the trash in Paris…

flyertalker00143

Let’s be honest, now is definitely not the best time to enjoy Paris. Some people, a minority of course, is not showing the best side of France right now. Hopefully you have been there before do you know how Paris looks like normally, but for some tourists coming for the first time, it will be an awful thing to remember.

f4free

Personally, am here, and notice nothing, I don't even see trash since this area has private trash companies. Public sector is on general strike so expect traffic and transit disruptions but I wouldnt worry too much.

orbitmic

Not the right place indeed (France travel forum would be) but as always, it is worth remembering that media will always show what is striking and illustrates whatever point they are trying to make. This particular week has been more tense because it was the conclusion of the adoption of a pension reform which has been highly divisive, so in a way, for the people wanting to protest, it's been "now or never", resulting in a number of non-scheduled demonstrations which by definition are not organised from within (normally, a demonstration is planned, and organisers will provide their own security organisation to ensure it is controlled throughout) and harder to manage.

For the same reason, there have been strikes mostly impacting the transport sector (and very occasionally schools) several times in recent weeks which can impact your activities if you need to travel on specific days.

Having said that, there are, quite literally, millions of people living normally in Paris and its region at the moment, including elderly people and children by the hundreds of thousands, They work normally, walk normally, shop normally, go out to restaurants and shows normally, see their friends normally, and will hear more about political disagreements from tv news and the internet than from personal experience. As you would do anywhere, if you walk and "bump" into a major demonstration, you simply would change path slightly to avoid it which is typically not very hard to do.

Even flying is mostly normal. On the "worst" days, there have typically been 20-30% of pre-emptive cancellations essentially affecting short haul flights that have been regrouped. in advance. So my guess is that many people visiting Paris as tourists or businessmen will have a largely unaffected experience. I would avoid booking a hotel in one of the areas that tend to be a primary ground for demonstrations (eg. Republique) but that's about it.

mlin32

I would say the thing you would notice the most is the accumulation of rubbish on the streets, depending on whether or not the arrondissement has public or private collection companies.

Also I would certainly avoid the areas where manifestations occur most frequently. And public transports are disrupted. And fuel is starting to become short, as deliveries from refineries and distributions have been stopped for over a week now.

But other aspects of normal life continue, it's not the apocalypse but also not the best time to visit Paris or France if you're not used to such things.

straniero

lots of trash everywhere. something got burned during protests. a strike is ongoing right now around auber. some trains work better than others. rer A almost unaffected. everything else is business as usual

Marambio

As others said, the rubbish situation is the main thing that will strike you as a visitor. Public transportation is affected sporadically (once a week or so) and on those days it's naturally a bit more difficult to find a taxi or Uber. There are demonstrations but I have to say that the level of violence seems to have been exaggerated by the media as most of them are actually peaceful. As for the rest, it's business as usual -- restaurants, museums, etc. are all open, and people go on with their lives. It's not greatest time to visit, but if you can't/don't want to cancel, that is also perfectly fine and you will enjoy your time here.

atflyer

Being in Paris for a year I can only concur with the to the point description of Marambio. Expect to see some rubbish piles, the occasional metro strikes implies that on such days 75% of the trains are cut but with everybody then working from home you still can get well around by public transport with a frequency that is now every 8 instead of 2 minutes (some lines may be more affected), and violence - I still have to run in my first demonstration let alone something that is not peaceful.

Sheikh Yerbooty

Short of an actual war, never ever be let to believe that images and stories in the media presents a picture of the general state of affairs. They take small incidents and blow them totally out of proportion, leading the reader to believe an entire country is going up in flames.

That's not the case, France is as lovely as it ever was and is always a place worth visiting. In fact Paris should be on any travelers bucket list of major cities to visit on this planet. But France is so much more than Paris which, let's face it, is metropolis with all the warts that come with that distinction. The areas of Provence and Occitanic are particularly appealing to me (great food, great history, great beaches, great weather), but Brittany and the Loire valley are also incredibly beautiful and interesting to visit.

So here's my advice: Don't read the news, set your sails and enjoy your stay. And keep in mind you're in France; they do things the French way and you just have to learn to live with it and enjoy it for what it is. But, then again, isn't that the case with every country?

Goldorak

I totally concur with what previous posters have said. The rubbish situation in 50% of the arrondissements is the worst part (the other 50% is totally normal as they are handled by the private sector). Métro is barely affected (even not affected at all most of the days). RER trains are more affected. As Orbitmic said, avoid booking a hotel Bastille, Nation, République area.
And, for BOD, I don't think there is anything going on over there except maybe a few demonstrations sometimes.

FenwayTim

Thank you for all the thoughts.. For more detail, yes we are going to more than Paris, we plan on being in Bordeaux for the first half of trip (we are taking the short flight from CDG to get there so hopefully that stays intact) as the speed train had a pretty lengthy difference in time from our arrive at CDG. We are staying at the prince de Galles which is in the 8th and I believe a public area for trash pick up, so we'll expect to see that... We do normally walk to most of the things we do in Paris so will walk a little more attentively for sure.
We live near San Francisco so the normal vagaries of the city, not a concern..
I am not sure how to move this to the proper forum, but do appreciate the helpfulness.

tubulus

On our way next week as well, can't wait! Have also head the Paris gov't has been arranging for extra garbage pickup in other areas so hopefully it's cleaned up mostly soon. My only slight worry is getting gas for our rental car in the Loire.

wysiwyg

I wouldn’t rent a car right now as finding gas will become increasingly difficult until this is resolved.
Trains are still impacted by the work action, but believe me, if your train is cancelled and you need to take the next one, it’s much less stressful that trying to find gas when there are huge lines at gas stations (for those with gas).

i was in France in October (during that last work action at the refineries, and it wasn’t pretty).

flyertalker00143

you will always find fuel but maybe next to your place so every time you’ll see a gas station and if you have half of the tank, just fill it up. Just get a station in town and try to avoid stations on highways (you will notice the overpriced fuel there anyway)

mlin32

Agreed. Driving will become more and more a gamble as the deliveries from the dépôts and refineries are still blocked. As of today, 1 in 5 stations services is out of fuel with regional disparities (west and SE hit hardest) and it will only get worse.