A French Connection - Prologue

Four years ago in May 2010 my whole focus was going to Japan.   I could not get my trip there out of my mind, and I was feverishly researching everything I could in anticipation of it.  I had no idea what was to come in 2011 with the tsunami, or that we would finally reach that distant country in 2012.    My parents, meanwhile, had just gotten back from a week in Paris, and I'd driven over to deliver food and such since they were jetlagged and their cupboards were empty.

Sitting at the kitchen table with a box of donuts, I waited while they rubbed Paris time away from their eyes and asked them, "So, how was the trip?"

Incredible was the answer I got.   From beginning to end, their trip to Paris had been unbelievable from the food to the artwork, the sights and sounds of the city of lights had left a distinct impression on my Mom and Dad.   They'd only been gone a week, and already they were planning when they might return.   Sitting and listening to them describe the treasures of art, the warm baked baguettes, the cheese, the landmark attractions I found Japan slipping away from my mind for just long enough that a seed could be planted.   I knew then and there I wanted to visit France as well.

Like Japan, France would become an independent affair.  My parents had done Paris alone, and they would do Switzerland as well before we sat down to consider a French expedition.  Of course, going it alone is never easy.    There was the itinerary to consider, where to go, what to see.   Then we had to figure out how to get to these places, where to find food etc.  Thankfully, Mom and Dad had help with their previous trip from friends Carolyn and Walter.   They could be counted on to provide us all the necessary tools and tricks to help us in our vacation.

What they provided was a binder, roughly 200 pages deep, which they spent over forty hours creating.  Inside were detailed maps, ideas of places to visit, to eat, histories etc.   It became our bible. They also provided a GPS, which became our Moses, because driving in France is never simple or easy.   With these things in hand, and with a little luck, we set out a date of September 10th.  Our destinations:  Paris, The Loire Valley and the Normandy coast.  The whole trip would last fifteen days.

While it has only been three days since we got back, the whole of France left its  own distinct impression on me that I chronicled in a Journal.  It's my hope to share my thoughts, my insights and photo's of France as I did in Japan.   I hope that it brings a smile to the faces of those who read it.

France and Threats

Fear is never a joke, especially fear that carries a certainty of harm to others.   Our world is full of a lot of fear right now, a lot of uncertainty.  One of these threats was to the people and the subways of Paris which I only recently visited.  Before I can talk anything about France, all the wonderful things I saw and the wonderful people..

I explain this because I am coming from a perspective and experience as an American who spent almost 15 days in the country, and most of those days in fairly major places with large crowds.   I saw major treasures of western civilization, and after some of my experiences I was left with very mixed feelings on what I saw as the attitude of French security.  It left much to be desired.

France is one of those ancient countries with so very much to see that is very old, beautiful and which have been put into major danger in the past (with the Nazis).   I feel bad complaining about France's approach to secuirty, I really do, but I need to say it as my Mom did.  The French seem way too cavalier with their security and protecting their treasures.

From the start I saw this fact, when I was taken through customs.  The man at the booth hardly looked at my passport as he stamped it and waved me through.  I didn't know it at the time, but it was a symptom of what is a major problem.

Going through security of the Louvre, Versailles, several cathedrals, even places in Normandy there are check points of course.  These almost seem a secondary thought.  There might be metal detectors, and bags are checked, but they are checked so quickly.  The focus is more on keeping the lines moving.  At one point I opened my bag to enter into what was effectively the French supreme court and the man at the counter gave the dark insides a passing glance.  He didn't bother to take out my jacket was inside, see if I had something beneath.  (I didn't, of course.)

There is also the security inside these places.  They may have signs that say "no pictures" and small lines on the floor to keep you back from paintings etc.  There may even be a person standing right next to said treasures.  This didn't stop people from taking photographs of Van Gogh's paintings at the Musee D'Orsay.  This didn't stop one man, bold faced in front of the security woman, from reaching out and touching a Renoir.   It was under glass, but she didn't even blink as he touched it.  Even when he took out his camera, and took a picture of Van Gogh's self portrait with her standing next to it with the sign that says "no photos."

You cannot walk in Paris without the constant threat of pickpockets.  Paris is "no better or worse" than any big city, but frankly I felt more safe and secure in Tokyo and Kyoto combined.    We were approached several times by people seeking us to "sign petitions" just walking near the Eiffel tower, and the tower itself is stiff with signs, voice messages and such telling you that someone is there wanting to rip you off.  The Gendarmarie, the french police, might be present in body but they don't seem to be in mind.  They patrol, but it almost just seems like a second thought once again.  There did seem an attitude of, "They're tourists, there's only a million more."

One specific time at the Eiffel, we saw a group of police oggling a woman while behind them another woman was signing one of those 'petitions.'

Vendors of all kinds mob these places, disappear the moment the police come and hide their wares in the bushes.  It lends a very tacky, very seedy atmosphere to beautiful places and a firmer control of such things would quickly change that.  Tour groups warn you from the signing petitions bit, but there's no other warnings or signs.   The ring con at the Musee D'Orsay is another threat, no signs or sign of police presence all the time we stayed just down the street.  There's other various cons and such going on.

Now, even as I say this I know there are people who will argue against me.  Please...do!  Tell me where I am wrong.  The French people try to be so welcoming and open, but in the process I think, they let things fall through the cracks.  There are other times when they clearly are on the ball.  My parents themselves saw the Gendarmes arrest a known pickpocket at the Eiffel tower on their last trip to Paris.   Obviously they do make these efforts.  But its one small splash in a very large ocean.

All these places are major tourist destinations.  All these places pack a lot of people into very small spaces.  The attitude to security I experienced ruined the beauty and desire to visit these places.  Heck, the only time I was barked at was at the Louvre.  I could take a photo of the Mona Lisa ... but not the crowd taking pictures of the Mona Lisa.

The first and only time I felt truly secure was at a train station on the way to Chartres.  John Kerry was in Paris for a meeting on ISL and there were men of the French national guard or army patrolling the concourse with visible automatic weapons.  They were vigilent, focused, very different from the Gendarmarie at the Eiffel.    The woman who asked us if we were carrying any unclaimed items, weapons, etc, didn't make any eye contact with us as we answered.

This was a stark contrast from returning to the United States, where the man who checked us and asked us questions never broke eye contact.  He was thorough, engaged, visibly doing his job.  People may bemoan the TSA, but I was never so glad to have to take off my shoes and go through a full security screening after so much lack of such things in France.  Yes I felt safe, but in going through the security, I realized that just its presence was a start reminder of the danger.  Could I really reconcile hiding the Mona Lisa behind barbed wire?  Could I deny people who want her picture?

I'm not certain what the solution is, honestly.  If the French adopted our exact TSA policies the line to the Louvre and such places would be miles long.  It would take an hour just to get inside to make your way to the Mona Lisa which can have an hour line at least.  They don't want to become like the United States, to have that constant threat or fear of threat.   I do not blame them either.   These are cultural treasures though, and I know the French people want to preserve them.  Perhaps a little more diligence, a little more visible interest would help.

Perhaps the French hope that an ounce of protection is better than a pound of concern.  They don't want to completely deny people, to appear as bristling with security and heightened fear as we are in the United States.  They try to be accommodating, but I think that effort needs to be better balanced with real concern.  As I said before, to quote my Mom, "they have a real cavalier attitude when it comes to security."   When there's such a visible attitude, something has to change.

What the answer is, between fear and security, I cannot say.   I welcome feedback and ideas on my own observations.  I am certain people have seen how I am wrong, or had experiences of their own, and not just in France.