Janetnews.com Blog

CNN.com reports Paris is on lockdown. And, the police will protect the major tourist attractions. Why such drastic measures? Internet postings and cell phone messages alerted police.

Paris on lockdown to prevent unrest

PARIS, France (AP) — Emergency security measures went into effect Saturday in Paris, with 3,000 police patrolling train stations, the Eiffel Tower and the Champs-Elysees to prevent France’s worst unrest in decades from spreading to the capital.

National Police Chief Michel Gaudin said police were taking “every precaution,” including banning certain public gatherings, a day after calls for “violent actions” Saturday evening in Paris were posted on Internet blogs and sent in text messages to cell phones.

“This is not a rumor,” Gaudin told a news conference, citing Paris’ best-known landmarks among potential targets. “One can easily imagine the places where we must be highly vigilant.”

The New York Times reports that Paris tourists are not affected by the riots. But, getting to the city from Charles De Gaulle airport may be another story:

For Tourists, a Calmer Paris
By Donald Morrison

The reality - contrary to what foreigners may deduce from television broadcasts of burning cars with the word “Paris” superimposed over them - is that the rioting remains distant from visitors. It has so far been confined to a handful of relatively distant, heavily working-class, immigrant communities. Inside the Périphérique, the highway that rings Paris and serves as an informal city line, life goes on pretty much as normal. That’s because in Paris, unlike most big American cities, the rich and the middle-class tend to live in the center of town. The poor are relegated to the “banlieues” - the decrepit bedroom communities at the far ends of commuter rail lines, where tourists rarely go.

Except, perhaps, when they arrive. Charles de Gaulle Airport, the main point for arrivals from overseas, lies about 15 miles northeast of the city. The route from the airport to the center of Paris passes directly through the riot-torn district of Seine-St.-Denis. One of the cheapest ways into the city from de Gaulle is the RER B train (about $10). Service has been disrupted in recent days, and one train was hit by rocks. The United States Embassy in Paris has been advising visitors to avoid the train.

Paris 2005: Part II

Here is only a part of what I saw at the Louvre. I also kept taking video of the ceiling which you’ll see towards the end. The ceiling in the Louvre is just as striking as the art on the walls. The place is amazing and there really is no way to capture the emotions I felt when I roamed the Louvre’s halls.

The song used is Paris from Faith Hill’s newest CD: Fireflies

Part I of The Louvre in Paris: Venus and Mona.

Song: Theme from Elvira Madigan (Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart