Paris Airport

I just came back from Paris. This is my first trip to France and I am telling myself that this could be my last trip there.

People there are not friendly. Not all. At least the waiters are nice. The Metro (Train) staff is bad. Refuse to speak English.

Airport staff even worst. They gave me the impression that France or Paris doesn���������������������������t like Asian.

Reason for me to say so is because, they told me that my hand carry luggage got explosive. Scan the bag for 4 times. They even ask me to take off my shoes for scanning.

My body was scan for 4 to 5 times. They refuse to open my bag to check even when I offer.

When the Custom Supervisor arrived, he just introduces himself to me and then follows by, %26quot;We suspect that your bag got explosive. You got to wait for the airport police to arrive before doing anything else.%26quot;

I waited for 30 mins for the policewoman to arrive. Both of them look at each other, speaking in French then ask me to open the bag.

All I have with me are a few boxes of chocolate. After I had shown them everything, the supervisor smile at me and say, %26quot;I think your chocolate got explosive.%26quot;

Isn%26#39;t that stupid? I gave him a stupid look and then all he say was %26quot;Thank you for your cooperation. You may now close your bag. Wait for 5 min as we need to clear your record again.%26quot;.

They didn%26#39;t even say %26quot;Sorry%26quot;. So rude. Lucky I am not late for my flight. Otherwise, I will make them pay double for everything.

Not only me. I saw the custom officers stopped two Chinese elderly. They told them that their bags are suspected for drugs. The officers asked them to open the hand luggage and they did a flip through. Found nothing and ask them to pack and go. Both elderly got the same treatment as me. No %26#39;Sorry%26#39; or anything.

But they dare not stop and white. Why? I guess only God knows.

I advise Asian who are traveling to France. Don%26#39;t speak English there. Speak your own dialect to them. Let them beg you to speak something which they can understand.

|||

%26gt; But they dare not stop and white. Why? I guess only God knows.

Actually I know a blond haired white person who missed his flight to New York two years ago because of somethng similar.

|||

You couldn%26#39;t be more WRONG about one thing: the French authorities do not dislike Asians---or non-French-speaking, people of any color (except perhaps for bright blue). This is probably one of those rare occasions when it actually was %26#39;..personal..%26#39;. It was probably just you they hated....and frankly, I%26#39;m guessing they had at least some just cause.

As for security threats, the French authorities take these concerns as seriously as if terrorists had flown three airliners into three large buildings and a fourth into the ground. Go figga%26#39;?? There%26#39;s no accounting for institutional paranoia.

|||

If you don%26#39;t want to go back to Paris because of this, then I%26#39;d absolutely suggest that you don%26#39;t go back to Paris. I suspect much of Paris (especially the airport staff) will be relieved with your decision since you seem a little impatient.

I%26#39;ve had to take my shoes off many times, and I%26#39;m extrememly white, so don%26#39;t take offense to that. I%26#39;ve had to take my belt off, been patted down and had my bags opened up -- even when I%26#39;m travelling with my kids. It%26#39;s unfortunately part of travelling today. You should be happy they%26#39;re vigilant. You may be alive one day because some airport security guard is doing his job thoroughly, even if it%26#39;s inconvenient, and even if they don%26#39;t say %26quot;sorry%26quot; every time (I%26#39;ve never expected nor received a %26quot;sorry%26quot; after a search).

As far as the metro staff -- a lot of them are pretty cranky. My one experience with a rude person on my last trip was the metro lady at the window. She would have been a jerk if she was in any country. As far as not speaking English -- why should they? It would be wonderful if they were all given English lessons, along with Spanish, German, Italian, etc. but it%26#39;s not going to happen, so make sure you know enough French to ask the questions you need to ask regarding the metro.

|||

Wait till you get to a US airport.... all what you explained has to do with Authorities taking extra measures at airports and not day to day dealing with the people in Paris.

|||

I have never experienced any problems in Paris. I have travelled there 11 times and have never found the French any less than pleasant. You can%26#39;t blame them for being offended that people won%26#39;t at least try to speak their language, they are very proud people. I mean, everyone know %26quot;Bonjour%26quot; right?

If you were working in a cafe or on the Metro in Singapore, wouldn%26#39;t you feel a bit offended if someone came up to you and started speaking in French even though they knew you can%26#39;t understand them?

As for the airport security, recent events in London have shown that extra security is needed. Of course the police are going to target Asian or Middle Eastern men, it is not racism, it is common sense.

|||

If it makes any difference, both my husband and I were singled out for %26quot;extra attention%26quot; at CDG in September. No one could by any stretch of the imagination mistake us for anything than what we are.....white bread AMERICAN. We were both patted down and swept with the wand. Leaving Paris, hubby was called out of a swarm of people right at the departure gate, checked again and then had to remove his shoes, after having gone thru all this already. The guy just looked at them, then threw them on the floor. Hubby got a bit hot around the collar because this person was so rude.

GEE....guess after all this horrible treatment, we%26#39;ll just NEVER set foot in Paris again!!! (wink-wink)

|||

In my first trip to Paris from all the passengers in my flight I was the only requested by the police to open my luggage and have it searched, of course this apart from been annoying (this was before 911) makes you think of profiling and discrimination. I am a US nationalized Cuban, maybe this fact ,Tony Montana, a flight from Miami and a very large suitcase ( thanks to my former) added up to drug trafficking for them.

But I didn%26#39;t let this spoil my trip and every other aspect of the trip was so fantastic that it haven%26#39;t deter me from keep coming to Paris. This is a sign of our times and you have to take it in its proper stride.

|||

In the last 30 years, there have been terrorist bomb attacks and/or attempts on Parisian targets regularly - the last few being the 1995 bomb in the Saint Michel metro station, and in 2001 when the US embassy was threatened. It%26#39;s only natural that they are vigilant.

|||

Every single time I fly out of my local regional airport, I%26#39;ve had to be scaned and take off my belt. (I stupidly wear one of those belts with the metal holes all over.) I also had to take off my shoes at LAX because the soles had metal screws in them. Whatever man. It takes 3 extra minutes, and if you%26#39;re early like you%26#39;re supposed to be, that doesn%26#39;t make a difference.

And I%26#39;m caucasian. Even with a tan, I%26#39;m still caucasian. :)