Paris Became A Police State--And Wow, It Changed (#190)

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Paris. Oh la la. If there's one city that everyone knows, it's this one. And with the Olympics being held here in 2024, a city normally swarming with tourists...had less of them? Lately Paris has been in the news for all of the wrong reasons: protests, riots, migrants, rising crime and homelessness. It's one of the few places in Europe with "no go zones", places where drug dealers and thieves have taken over entire housing complexes. And nowhere was more infamous than Saint-Denis, a "suburb" many Parisians wouldn't dare visit.

So France had decided to turn their capital and suburbs into a police state in order to safely hold the Olympics. They've been so brazen recently that they even arrested the founder of Telegram. This was definitely a weird time to visit. But that's what I specialize in.

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#sabbatical #france #paris

[SabbaticalTommy]

When you are traveling, HOLAFLY is an excellent option to have internet. Check out their packages and get a 5% discount here:


Discount code: SABBATICAL

[krisb-travel]

31:00 that old lady is a good reminder we should talk to our elderly, she seemed so happy to have a conversation and is able to share some wisdom too.

[conwaymj]

Spent about 3 weeks traveling around Europe and to my uninformed surprise, Paris was actually one of the friendlier places I encountered - practically tied with Dublin. Rome on the other hand... Couldn't walk 100 yards without someone trying to scam me.

[laurimas]

Really enjoyed this- I like how you travel so modestly, appreciating everything and everyone you meet. And it was great to experience that glimpse of the Olympics from that bar- so lively.

[outsidetheconfines]

Hands down best traveling polyglot

*edit* lol I’ve gotten more likes here than all likes combined on my channel lol

[iammichaeldavis]

1:20 25 years ago I had the same exact experience in Paris: everyone told me they would be rude, and shitty to people who tried to attempt French. Well, everyone **I** met was awesome, polite, helpfully corrected my enunciation, bummed me smokes on the street... I have nothing but incredible memories of Paris and the Parisian French 🥰

[SabbaticalTommy]

So I said in the last video I was gonna try and go from Europe to the Pacific Ocean without flying, and yet here I am flying into Paris. Well yeah, Ireland is an island, the no planes part starts from here 🚗

[deaconfuse]

Being from North Carolina I have to get a laugh at the Krispy Kreme sign behind the band in the subway tunnel. All the great pastries there are and Krispy Kreme gets wall space lol

[mulangira]

You are from NYC and you don't know why they steal bike wheels? It happens in NYC all the time. They steal the wheels so the owner can't ride the bike and leaves it overnight. Then under the cover of night they come back with a battery powered angle grinder and cut the chain and steal the rest of the bike. It's a classic bike thief technique.

[imamyousomtimes]

WHEN YOU LET TOO MANY BAD PEOPLE INTO THE COUNTRY- YOU NEED A LOT OF POLICE

[kiowa]

Frankly I’m not at all surprised that the city is “shut down” just before the start of the Olympics.

[vicorlebrun]

Saint-Denis used to be a normal town with a predominance of working class people and immigrants from Europe. The old town is pretty and has a strong historical value with the Basilicas, resting place of the Kings. However since the massive migration from mostly african countries from the 70s, and the construction of public housing on the outskirts of the center, the city (and France in overall) changed dramatically. Saint-Denis and the surrounding towns became dodgy and mainly muslim (only 1 or 2 non-halal butchers remain in St Denis, for more than 100k inhabitants). There are also even dodgier towns than Saint-Denis in the surrounding areas such as La Courneuve, Bobigny, Sevran.... and many more.

[tianly]

I like Tommy's videos because he is real, little awkward and humble. A guy like Kurt Caz is arrogant, cocky and rude at times. He also tries to impress you with girls in his videos. Which to me takes away from the travel aspect of the content. Keep up the good work Tommy.

[Dertrend]

Its great to see the old guys still playing the boules. That used to be a lot more common.

[AugustinLegrand-bxcd]

Canadian here! French canadian to be exact, from the francophone province of Québec. When you mentionned Saint-Pierre et Miquelon (the french island in Canada's reach) you said that you didn't know why they kept it. Well, it was because of its deep sea harbour giving access to amazing fishing spot off its coast. Also, by keeping this territory, they assured themselves a place to station boats in case of a war with the british following their defeat in Québec City in which the French gave up their canadian colony called Nouvelle-France.

[Sensitive_info]

I have visited France without leaving my country. Thank you.

[ourladyofguadalupebotanica]

I was there in Saint Denis in May - went to the cathedral. It really isn't that bad of an area compared to other parts of the city. Compared to the big cities in the US, Saint Denis area is tame.

[ext]

Thank you for taking us here. This is the best celebration, and France is so beautiful even if you are in the skid row. Double like. 👍👍

[ritasafari]

The hightened security was a protocol for high level terrorist attacks during olympics. Gladly it worked...we had no incident.

[fusion]

You've never needed a sim card to get wifi. That doesn't even make sense.