I've been to Paris twice now...and both times i've noticed the increasing amount of street vendors. These people are generally seen around te Eiffel Tower, The Sacre Coeur, Notre Dame and a few have a been seen also along the river Seine. Possibly the most notorious of the street vendors are at The Sacre Coeur and trust me...stay away from them at all costs because they can get VERY vicious indeed.
When going to the Eiffel Tower...there is a long line of "Bling Bling" Street Vendors standing side by side with their metal hoops with keyrings on, waiting for gullible and easily intimidated tourists to some along and buy their products. NEVER buy from them. Their prices may seem cheap...but one of my friends found out the hard way by buying something that stopped working ten minutes later.
Another thing that should be taken into account is to never let children near them. That includes teenagers. They let them buy pornographic playing cards and swiss army knives. They have no regards as to their health of the purchasers or the people around them.
This also applies to the Palace of Versailles where street vendors flock and there appears to be hundreds of them. Just ignore them and walk on by.
The River Seine has a few street vendors milling about where people get off the boats, but they tend to not be as aggressive as most. But around that area, there are women who walk around with cards, and asking people if they speak english, the cards say things like: "I am from Bosnia. My Husband has died from leukaemia and i have 3 children to look after...do you please have any money to spare?" But it doesnt matter whether the money is spare or not...they hound you for it and wont leave you alone until you give them some. Just blatantly say "No." Because after you give it to them...they all huddle together and counts how much they have. They're just playing on people's consciences and emotions.
But yes...i've found the easiest method is to say "No thankyou," and if they pursue you...just turn around and say NO!!
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