Blog Post #3

Postcards: Unsafe Safety 

Safety Measures on Bastille Day in Paris, France

Soldiers underneath the Eiffel Tower
Photo by: Kimberly Chandler

The Chaos Before

I never questioned my safety in Paris until I was face to face with thirty policemen systematically corralling people in order to insure my safety. I knew going into Bastille Day, France’s Independence day, that security would be crawling all over the city’s streets. What I didn’t expect, however, was the sense of vulnerability their presence would make me feel. Since stepping foot off the plane, due to recent events putting Paris on a red alert, I have seen military and police walking, gun in hand, all over main streets and busy tourists hubs. So multiply the heightened security by 10, and that might give you some image of how intense things were on this Holiday put in place to celebrate the strength of the country’s military. As most first time visitors would do, I made the decision to experience all parts of Bastille Day. From walking the Champs Elysee in order to view the parade, to staking out a spot on the lawn in front of the Eiffel Tower so I could get a great view of the fireworks, I did it all. During those activities I could feel my tension and unease growing through out the day as more service members appeared, lining the streets with their weapons and steal expressions, but it wasn’t until that evening, after the fireworks display finished, that I felt the most unsafe.

The Chaos After 

As can be imagined, the big lawn in front of the Eiffel Tower was packed to capacity; not an inch of the green grass could be seen. So once the display was over, expectedly, chaos ensued. People, myself included, began pushing and running trying to make it to the metro only to be met with a blockade of security baring entrance. A little frustrating, but there was another metro station barely a block away. However, as it turns out, it to was closed. Quickly, the now agitated crowd realized all of the metro stations in the area were closed off; we would have to walk. After a day of being searched, moved, and now blocked, the service members were nowhere to be found. They had made it so everyone was pushed out of the central part of Paris and into the outer quarters. The tension from frustrated drivers stuck in their cars because people filled the streets and even more frustrated metro riders who were roughly pushing people out of trains because they were packed with everyone trying to get into the open ports, grew to a pretty hostile environment. Despite their efforts, the security team had made things worse. Instead of creating an atmosphere of calm, the lack of control people felt they had when faced with security, made them feel threatened. After a long day of this people were fed up and just ready to get home or to their next destination and that is the time security is needed the most, but where were they? Perhaps, the lesson to be learned in this scenario is experiencing all of the Bastille Day activities can be fun and worthwhile, but it will come at the price of relinquishing your own feelings of security.

Note to Dr. Carroll: My posts are doing some weird things with my fonts and text sizes that I can't seem to fix.