Paris Reality

“Stay out of the area around the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris.” This explicit warning was given to Debbie and me by a local French friend years ago before our initial trip to Paris. It has been reported that on the evening of 13 November there were three suicide bombings near the Stade de France. Mass shootings at the Bataclan theatre in Paris’ 11^th arrondissement account for 89 of the initially reported 129 attack deaths.

“No Go” zones in France are so designated as areas where only Muslims can go. The police even have a problem in these areas. The zones are more officially designated as Zones Urbaines Sensibles.

There are “No Go” zones in Saint-Denis. And there is a “No Go” zone in the 11^th as well as in the 10^th. There is also a “No Go” zone in both Paris’ outer 17^th and 19^th districts, two in the 20^th and three in the 18^th of Paris’ total 20 arrondissements (districts).

In sum, the recent Paris terrorist attacks were in areas of Paris where Debbie and I had plenty of advance intelligence to not visit. If you are like the majority of American tourists, you will concentrate your stay in the 1st, 2nd, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 16th. Your secondary list will include visits to the 3rd, 4th and 14th arrondissements. That is your complete field of play, so to stay. As far as hotel accommodations, Debbie and I confine our hotel visits to the 6^th, 7^th, 8^th, and 16^th. All of these are a long way from any Zones Urbaines Sensibles.

When we were in Paris last fall there had been a marked increase in security, especially in the 8^th near our hotel, just over a block from the Élysée Palace, the official residence of the president of France.

Over this week and next I will be posting a multi-part series that will deal with radical Muslim terrorism from its 21^st century origins to the recent Paris attacks. From the top, this radical Muslim terrorism is the result of one word—oil. And the country most responsible for fanning the flames of terrorism? Saudi Arabia. Stay tuned.