How Safe is France?

[Martini...LB]

Kate, this needs to be put into context,  sure there has been some local isolated unrest, and, birds have died through "bird flu", also I believe about 100 people WORLDWIDE have died of the virus.  I'll stand to be corrected; the virus strain has only involved creature to human and no reported instances of the virus mutating thus enabling human to human infection. In those instances where human infection has happened the people have lived in very close proximity to the creatures.

If we Europeans believed 1% of the stories that come out of North America we would never visit, what with the chance of murder, mugging, government conspiracy, alien abduction, religious group suicide etc.

As you know journalists cannot resist the chance of selling a story and will stretch the facts to achieve this.  Use some common sense; its not stopping us from travelling and neither should it stop you.

Hear, hear...

The reports of violence in Paris were, I read, originally in a Ghetto area.

Martini...

[Fran]

Today apparantly over 1 million people "protesting" in Paris and other cities... so thats about normal for France!  Police were pelting em with paintballs....

As for avian flu, you dont have to worry about it unless you are chicken!

 

[Ferrari Spider]

Hear, hear...

The reports of violence in Paris were, I read, originally in a Ghetto area.

Martini...

PROBABLY THE PARISIAN EQUIVALENT OF HOUX ANNEXE

[Piglet]

Hear, hear...

The reports of violence in Paris were, I read, originally in a Ghetto area.

Martini...

PROBABLY THE PARISIAN EQUIVALENT OF HOUX ANNEXE

Stop it and play nicely with the other children Mr Spider 

[Kate Shaw]

Well, that is why I asked.  We don't get a 'balanced' viewpoint over here and they make it look as if everything is under seige (because it makes a better story).  My parents say the same thing about Canada; the only time Canada is in the news in Alabama is when something terrible is happening or a politician does something anti-American.  Most of the time Toronto is no more dangerous than Atlanta, except that in Atlanta you can shoot back.   

Piglet, I have had an invitation from a couple of friends to share a motor home if they decide to go, which is pretty nebulous -- so I am not really planning on it but wanted to check on the safety just in case.    I would not be working if I did go, just over there for the fun.  (For once!)

[knetter]

Having lived in the US for years, i can say that news is only sensation based and very very onesided. You only hear what the news stations want you to hear, goes for Iraq and Afganistan as wel as it goes for birdflu and riots in France. Thank god we do things differently in Europe.

Don't worry, come over and have fun. You won't see anything having to do with riots, unless of course one of the bogblocks starts running over As for birdflu in humans. It is highly unlikely to start spreading from human to human, because this virus resides deep in the lungs were it does it's damage, making it hard to cough up and form aerosols which can spread trough the air.

[Nordic]

I packing some of these.

A bear, a lion and a chicken meet.

The Bear says: "If I roar in the forest, the entire forest is shivering with fear."

The Lion says: "If I roar in the desert, the entire desert is afraid of me."

Then the Chicken says: "Big deal. I only have to cough, and the entire planet sh*t's itself

[johnevans3]

"Most of the time Toronto is no more dangerous than Atlanta, except that in Atlanta you can shoot back."

When Texas enacted the concealed carry gun law, all the gun opposition including the media (state and national) said there would be carnage in the streets.  No such thing has happened.  In fact, it's my understanding that crime against citizens has actully dropped, as in Florida, because the evil doers don't know who has a gun and for fear that they will get their ass shot if they try to mess around with the wrong guy or gal.  It has been a successful deterent.  I'm glad some things the government does turns out to be the right thing to do, at least so far.  That's pretty rare these days.
Yeee Haaa!!!! 

[alibongo]

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH and I thought those things were to wash off muddy shoes, I did think that they were all smelly at the time 

[Papa Lazarou]

  There seems to be a lack of them in France.  Infact  someone seems to goaround nickig the Bogs too. 

Police have been investigating this but they have nothing to go on.

Copyright The Two Ronnies. 198n

 

[BigH]

I am hearing about a lot of rioting, burning of cars and blowing up of buildings, plus rampaging "students" on the trains who are beating up the passengers and robbing them.

Also I have heard that Bird Flu has begun in France.

How safe is it going to be to go to Le Mans in 2006?  (After we get there it will be as safe as ever, I am sure, but how about the actually getting there part?)

Kate,
You're quite right to worry, and anyone else out there who thinks this is a joke, better think again and get a little more informed.
Uncle Albert (a war veteran - sniper) has been recalled back to his old regiment and has been stationed, along with some of his old comrades-in-arms, at regular intervals along the south coast (the bit that faces the rest of Europe) with orders to shoot anything out of the sky with feathers heading this way. His orders are 'shoot to kill'. He has plenty of ammunition, and so far he has got through several magazines (he had to choke a chicken this morning!!).
I hear that Rouen has been blockaded by mucus covered foie-gras chefs, and it's getting nastier by the hour. Quite what  the repercussions for tourism and the 24 hour race will be, I'm not sure, but I don't think the signs are good - Arnage village had a family of infected storks taken away under guard last night. Personally, I reckon the place is a tinderbox.
H

[Lorry]

Very good

Somehow, I get the feeling that anyone related to you would be an expert at choking the chicken.

And Rouen is always blockade by someone.

One dead swan and half of Scotland is paralytic.

[Doris]

One dead swan and half of Scotland is paralytic.

Honestly.  Those Scots will find any excuse to have a drink!