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I'd read all the warnings about pickpocketing in the metro (especially on the CDG airport line) so we were v careful whenever on the Paris metro, but twice we travelled in rush hour....and that's where we had trouble. Just 2.5 days before flying home, my handbag (which was less than 2 inches from my hip) was pickpocketed just before we got off at Gare de Lyon. I felt absolutely nothing and didn't hear the velcro opening of my bag being opened (which makes quite a bit of noise) but the minute I stepped off the train, I knew. We'd done all the right things - got insurance, and had numbers for bank and visa in a safe, separate place, so all was cancelled within 1 hour. Even so, the thief spent about $3000 on our card, now we have to go through the investigation process. The bag I was carrying was the one I felt safest with - over my neck and opposite shoulder, but maybe if it had had a zipper it would have taken them longer to get into and I might have managed to catch the....the police said at least 100 people are pickpocketed on the metro every day, and they are often working in pairs, for example one might distract you or block you as you are getting off, and then a common way to steal your wallet is to drop a jacket over the top of your bag, and come up from underneath, then move off. They're professionals - my advice is maybe never travel at peak hour, but that's not always possible. We were lucky that Gare du Lyon has its own police station inside, and the police were most sympathetic and helpful and seemed to be under the impression that there's nothing I could have done to avoid what happened :-( I had another handbag with me that DID have a zip, but it's a shoulder bag and when I'm transporting luggage as well, it tends to half hang/swing off my shoulder, and I don't think it would take much for somebody to grab it and run. So, in summary, be very careful on the metro, in crowds, in darkened churches, and also on escalators.
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 Comments for Kate-Me about Paris | | | | |
Ipanema_Princess Sat Apr 21, 2007 20:19 UTC
Un bonjour de Paris ! Bravo pour ta page ;-) | Nemorino Sun Jul 2, 2006 09:35 UTC
Looks like you were in Paris the same time I was, the week before last. I agree that Paris has changed, but from my point of few there have been vast improvements over the past five years. | chiara76 Wed Mar 22, 2006 21:53 UTC
I like your page a lot! I can see you had time of your life there! (as much as I had in Greece or Portugal, I suppose:). Greetings from Maria. | VeronicaG Tue Dec 20, 2005 21:41 UTC
We visited Paris many years ago, seeing many of the same sites...there are such beautiful antiquities there! |
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