Paris on a Saturday? Protests?

[HockeyMom44]

We will only be in France 1 day. Our ship docks in La Havre,France on a Saturday.

We are taking the cruise lines excursion to the Louve.

Should we be worried? Sould we just cancel this excursion, and NOT go to Paris?

[CruiserBruce]

When are you going? Not sure anybody is going to know very far in advance.

[fabnfortysomething]

I wouldn't cancel a trip to a dream destination due to some idiots staging a demonstration

 

police will be monitoring crowds and experienced tour operators will make sure their guests are kept well away from areas of unrest

 

Paris is a major tourist destination   

[dogs4fun]

38 minutes ago, fabnfortysomething said:

I wouldn't cancel a trip to a dream destination due to some idiots staging a demonstration

police will be monitoring crowds and experienced tour operators will make sure their guests are kept well away from areas of unrest

Paris is a major tourist destination   

Agree wholeheartedly - I would not cancel as your guide should know how to avoid the demonstrations. 

Edited March 24, 2019 by dogs4fun

[lamchops]

11 hours ago, HockeyMom44 said:

We will only be in France 1 day. Our ship docks in La Havre,France on a Saturday.

We are taking the cruise lines excursion to the Louve.

Should we be worried? Sould we just cancel this excursion, and NOT go to Paris?

I’m not crazy about taking a bus for 3 hours each way to Paris for a few hours at the louvre. Combine that with it being a Saturday, I would cancel. I just got back from Paris last week and spent the Saturday at Disneyland Paris before going into Paris on Sunday. The demonstrations have been along the seine and champs élysées and the louvre is near both. I personally prefer the D-day experience over the louvre.

[rocklinmom]

I would like to know as well because we will be in Paris on a Saturday too (June 29th).  We also have booked the Princess shorex to the Louvre, with lunch at a restaurant by the Eiffel Tower. 

[simplyrubies]

The gilets jaunes have been protesting just about every Saturday in Paris for five months now. The police and businesses are very used to dealing with them. They tend to congregate in similar areas each week, but you may be pleased to know that they have actually just been banned from marching on the Champs de l'Élysées, which is the street with many fancy designer shops and the Arc du Triomphe due to severe violence. It is difficult to predict where they will march given the new situation but the Parisian police and French government have shown that they will not tolerate any further severe violence. This weekend they marched to Sacre Coeur (the church). 

 

Though there are gilets jaunes protestors in Le Havre as well, they will not pose a problem for you and are much more peaceful than their Parisian counterparts. They tend to congregate at city hall (away from the cruise terminal) but thankfully have not blocked the Port de Normandie, which is the bridge you must cross to go to Paris in months now. They usually hang out and listen to music!

 

Though protests are generally peaceful, it does seem that violence and teargas is not uncommon. Traffic blockades and interruptions are to be expected, but in a big city like Paris they are frequent with and without the gilets jaunes. You can keep up to date on the situation with US security alerts about Paris. Furthermore, you may be able to do a quick google search before your excursion to see what media outlets are saying about where the gilets jaunes plan to protest and if the cancellation fee is very low/none you can decide at that point. Paris has had a large security presence (armed soldiers) ever since the November terrorist attacks and there will be police/military officers at the protests as well so don't be alarmed if you see military - it is quite normal to see three armed officers at the Arc du Triomphe, for example. 

 

That being said, after 19+ weeks of protests, your tour guides will be very familiar with the situation in Paris and will be able to lead you past them. However, the drive from Le Havre to Paris is at least 2 and half hours, and on a weekend with protests, probably more likely to be 3 hours+ in either direction, meaning that you do not have much time at the Louvre. However, the Louvre and Paris in general is quite beautiful so even a few hours in Paris will be lovely. And, you will be getting the true French experience as manifestations are quite common here.  😅

Edited March 25, 2019 by simplyrubies

[rocklinmom]

Thank you so much simplyrubies!  Great information. 

[HockeyMom44]

22 hours ago, simplyrubies said:

The gilets jaunes have been protesting just about every Saturday in Paris for five months now. The police and businesses are very used to dealing with them. They tend to congregate in similar areas each week, but you may be pleased to know that they have actually just been banned from marching on the Champs de l'Élysées, which is the street with many fancy designer shops and the Arc du Triomphe due to severe violence. It is difficult to predict where they will march given the new situation but the Parisian police and French government have shown that they will not tolerate any further severe violence. This weekend they marched to Sacre Coeur (the church). 

 

Though there are gilets jaunes protestors in Le Havre as well, they will not pose a problem for you and are much more peaceful than their Parisian counterparts. They tend to congregate at city hall (away from the cruise terminal) but thankfully have not blocked the Port de Normandie, which is the bridge you must cross to go to Paris in months now. They usually hang out and listen to music!

 

Though protests are generally peaceful, it does seem that violence and teargas is not uncommon. Traffic blockades and interruptions are to be expected, but in a big city like Paris they are frequent with and without the gilets jaunes. You can keep up to date on the situation with US security alerts about Paris. Furthermore, you may be able to do a quick google search before your excursion to see what media outlets are saying about where the gilets jaunes plan to protest and if the cancellation fee is very low/none you can decide at that point. Paris has had a large security presence (armed soldiers) ever since the November terrorist attacks and there will be police/military officers at the protests as well so don't be alarmed if you see military - it is quite normal to see three armed officers at the Arc du Triomphe, for example. 

 

That being said, after 19+ weeks of protests, your tour guides will be very familiar with the situation in Paris and will be able to lead you past them. However, the drive from Le Havre to Paris is at least 2 and half hours, and on a weekend with protests, probably more likely to be 3 hours+ in either direction, meaning that you do not have much time at the Louvre. However, the Louvre and Paris in general is quite beautiful so even a few hours in Paris will be lovely. And, you will be getting the true French experience as manifestations are quite common here.  😅

Thanks so much.

We've never been to Paris,or for that matter anywhere in France.

My husband really wants to go to the Louve,and was concerned about the protests.

seeing the Mona Lisa is a definate for his bucket list.

[simplyrubies]

8 hours ago, HockeyMom44 said:

Thanks so much.

We've never been to Paris,or for that matter anywhere in France.

My husband really wants to go to the Louve,and was concerned about the protests.

seeing the Mona Lisa is a definate for his bucket list.

 

You should definitely go and fulfill his bucket list! Don't let the gilets jaunes stop you from going. 

 

In all honesty, they do not tend to target bystanders if the protests do get violent - most clashes occur with the police or in the form of property damage. So long as you don't stand and gawk, you should be fine. Traffic will be a concern, but is always a pain every day in Paris so nothing is really new in that regard! I hope you have a great time in Paris 🙂 

[Langoustine]

On 3/26/2019 at 3:40 PM, HockeyMom44 said:

My husband really wants to go to the Louve,and was concerned about the protests.

seeing the Mona Lisa is a definate for his bucket list.

I wish you the best of luck. This is as close as we could get on our last trip in 2015:

Edited March 28, 2019 by Langoustine

[GrJ Berkshire]

17 hours ago, Langoustine said:

I wish you the best of luck. This is as close as we could get on our last trip in 2015:

In the Summer the louvre can be like this and the world and his wife all aim to see the Mona Lisa.

Le Havre to and from Paris plus the crowds may not be worth it.

Even without the yellow vests it might not be the best way, Paris needs more than 5 hours.

[luvcdays]

On 3/27/2019 at 7:05 PM, Langoustine said:

I wish you the best of luck. This is as close as we could get on our last trip in 2015:

Yikes!!!