Me and Siân love Paris,

[Jim]

We really do. We've not been for about 18 years, but we used to pop into the city whenever we could. After Living in London for many years I was always a little jealous of Paris. It was always spotless and well cared for. Even after the hoards of tourists made it a little dirty, no matter; a little uniformed army would appear at 5 am and polish the whole city. I remember taking pictures of them one time.

Anyway, fast forward to a few weeks ago my eldest daughter visited for the first time with friends. They had a great time but told me that the area of their hotel was dirty and run down, I knew where they stayed and was really surprised.

Then this today came up in a feed. There might be some French politics in this video, but the camera doesn't lie, I don't recognise it from our visits, what a shame.

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

But if you wanted just to show the most cleanest areas of any town you could do a similar video .We haven't been to Paris for a while either and have good memories, but we have also found that most towns and cities in Europe were much clearer of litter and graffiti than the UK..

 

[Jim]

But if you wanted just to show the most cleanest areas of any town you could do a similar video

Of course, but i was just shocked. The Paris we visited literally was spotless, not a full bin anywhere, everything with a fresh lick of paint, They would literally wash the pavement. The Paris in the video, looks a lot like London did/does.

 

[LesW]

She (the mayor) must have done her training for the job at the same place Khan did..

 

[old-mo]

The Paris in the video, looks a lot like London did/does.

Much the same as any town or city throughout the world, now...

Most council infrastructures have fallen by the way side.... all boils down to if we want to get spick & span again we are ALL going to have to put or hands in our pockets...

So much waste every where regarding expenditure..

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[599]

hi jim . we saw this coming traveling down to our farmhouse near gimont from the late eighties how more run down it was every time we passed . & such a lovely city but its the same allover the world now .val

 

[Chuns]

I have two French friends, of different political alignments and different ages, and they both have been observing for some while that we can believe what we read in the press about the mess the city is, and is in. There is a bit of political gainsaying going on, but ordinary residents are very unhappy about the state of their lovely city - not just the litter but the traffic, the homeless, and so on.

 

[Themselves]

I used to like Paris. When the TDF cycle there it looks terrific. However…..
Years ago, sat at a pavement restaurant. The waiter had obviously had enough for the year. Took our order grudgingly and sloped off to get whatever overpriced crap we had ordered. When he finally arrived back, he took the cigarette that was hanging from his mouth and placed it on the table behind ours with the burning end overhanging the edge. Flung the gruel in front of us with what was, I assume, intended to be a smile, picked up his dog end and shuffled off to his lair. It was then that we noticed he was wearing carpet slippers.

 

[Chris]

Never been a great fan of Paris to be honest.

I prefer Rome, but that’s grubby and graffiti ridden too.

 

[Spriddler]

For four years in the early 80's I lived in a girlfriend's Paris apartment close to the Place de la Bastille and Paris always seemed clean, vibrant and romantic although I never consciously looked at the city from that angle.
My main memories are avoiding getting drenched in the early morning on my way to the Metro by the street water hydrants that (I assumed) were turned on in order to wash all the flat-dwellers dogs' mess and other detritus off the pavements, down the gutters and into the drains.
My other lasting memory is of the vagrants and homeless huddled on the pavement Metro ventilation grilles for warmth in winter.
On Sundays before meeting friends for coffee my girlfriend and I used to take flowers to her grandma and when the Metro ticket inspector punched our tickets it left a heart-shaped hole. I have carried our last two tickets in my wallet for nearly 40 years although they are pretty indistinct now but the heart-shaped holes are still visible.

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[Tombola]

carpet slippers.

Chanel

lol

 

[DuxDeluxe]

I used to like Paris. When the TDF cycle there it looks terrific. However…..
Years ago, sat at a pavement restaurant. The waiter had obviously had enough for the year. Took our order grudgingly and sloped off to get whatever overpriced crap we had ordered. When he finally arrived back, he took the cigarette that was hanging from his mouth and placed it on the table behind ours with the burning end overhanging the edge. Flung the gruel in front of us with what was, I assume, intended to be a smile, picked up his dog end and shuffled off to his lair. It was then that we noticed he was wearing carpet slippers.

Is that not normal Parisienne service nowadays? Last time I was there was for the 6N “Le crunch” and the (decent) hotel and the lunch before the match was dreadful. The Friday night alcohol fuelled brasserie meal with clients was however epic, despite the iffy service. Somehow got the bill through on expenses…….

 

[DuxDeluxe]

Never been a great fan of Paris to be honest.

I prefer Rome, but that’s grubby and graffiti ridden too.

Tourist hell, but loved my visits to the shipowners there, as was Naples. More about the shipowners (true shipping people) than the place though…..

Chris, I am so disappointed…… I thought that you would love the je ne sais quois of gay Paree…..

 

[Gromett]

Last time I went in 2008/9 (Twice) it was a bit of a shithole to be honest. Dog crap everywhere, Romanians aggressively begging, plenty of litter.

The second time in 2009 was markedly better at is was covered in snow and looked beautiful. You couldn't see the litter or dog crap and the beggers were all somewhere inside keeping warm. I have to say the city was beautiful that time and the staff at the hotel were extremely friendly and helpful which is not the usual experience in Paris.

I much prefer Bordeaux to Paris.

 

[DuxDeluxe]

I much prefer Bordeaux to Paris.

Nice city and not overrun with bloody tourists

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[Otter Spotter]

Visited Paris in 1993 and I remember the street cleaners early in the morning loading any rubbish away and washing the pavements down with water sprays. It was spotless, there was a sense of pride shining through on Parisians faces, the only pests were Algerian tourist card sellers who did take ‘No’ for an answer.
Wouldn’t go back now, too many pickpockets and homeless like most capital cities.

 

[Chris]

Nice city and not overrun with bloody tourists

And Wales have a game there in the next Rugby World Cup

 

[DuxDeluxe]

And Wales have a game there in the next Rugby World Cup

Get tickets…… even for the inevitable thrashing by Les Bleus. Stade de France…… awesome atmosphere.

And like all the rugby stadia - great fans!

The corralling and 2 hour queue for the metro not so good but not different to Twickers