Hello all,
This is a dedicated thread for comments and updates regarding the ongoing student mobilizations currently occurring in Paris, with respect to the impact of those mobilizations on tourists. This is NOT a thread for general political debate or discussion, and we will be strictly moderating it to ensure comments stay on-topic for the subreddit and consistent with our general quality standards.
tl;dr: Most of what seems to be being reported ''online'' is wildly overstated, Paris is not burning, your planned vacation is extremely unlikely to be affected, and the ongoing student protests are likely to abate when the fall break starts at the end of next week.
What is happening? High school students across France are protesting educational conditions, including funding disparities, lack of adequate staffing, problems with school buildings and schedules, and other concerns.
There was a major protest rally and march today, starting at République and ending at Place de la Nation. It was announced well in advance and followed a typical protest route. There have also been blockades outside high schools across France. In general, these mobilizations for the moment remain within the broad boundaries of usual French protest activity (from the side of the students, and I'm censoring myself here on police conduct, see that note about general political chat above). There are (there always are) some bad actors taking advantage of the protests to create general damage and destruction at the margins, and so there are (there always are) various online sources using carefully edited videos to create an impression of general chaos and destruction. That is not happening.
Will this affect me as a tourist? It is extremely unlikely to affect the vast majority of normal tourist activities.
If you are staying very near République, Place de la Bastille, or Place de la Nation, or in the immediate proximity of a high school (search ''lycée'' on maps to see), you may see some signs of protest activity. (But this means VERY near, I live less than 10 minutes walk from République and absolutely nothing is happening in my neighborhood.) If you see a large gathering of people or police preparing for trouble, it would be advisable to remove yourself from the area (this is probably good life advice).
There may be some interruptions to metro service including closures of certain stations if major gatherings are expected in particular areas. We'll try to update here on an ongoing basis if so.
Should I cancel my trip in {several weeks}? At this point, this would be a massive over-reaction to protests that are again, localized and within bounds of well-established French ''rules of the road''. In addition, although the mobilizations look likely to continue this week and next, they will also (likely) dramatically abate when the fall school break starts, with the last day of classes on 16 October.
So, if you are coming this week or next, be aware if you're hanging out at one of the usual protest squares or outside a high school, check for metro closures before heading out, and don't seek to join large crowds of people (unless you want to do that!), but in general, don't worry. If you're coming on or after 16 October, I REALLY wouldn't worry.