The last time we were in Paris was May 2015, before the mass shootings at the Balacan nightclub and at cafés in the city. It was also before the Bastille Day truck assault in Nice and the attack on a Berlin Christmas market in 2016. As a result, security is heightened throughout France. We’ve seen multiple layers of security in all of the cities on our trip this year, from private security officers to local police to soldiers armed with assault weapons. While this development may offer a visual veneer of safety to residents and visitors, I wonder if it’s a “fighting the last war” phenomenon. These strategies may force committed terrorists into using other tactics. For example, the barricading of sidewalks and bike trails against vehicles after Nice and New York didn’t prevent the attempted subway suicide bomber near Times Square earlier this month.
Yesterday we walked over to the Eiffel Tower. The grounds were a soggy mess. It looked as if a Christmas market was being constructed. I assumed one would be up and running by now. The Tower itself was ringed by security fences to the point that pedestrians had limited access to the streets and bridge to the north. (Julian took a shot of the top of the tower from a nearby neighborhood, but the whole Tower was not photogenic because of the fencing.) The ubiquitous selfie stick and souvenir sales people were confined to narrow strips of sidewalk, so you risked stepping on their goods as you walked past. If this is what the new reality is at low season, the summer crowds must exacerbate the mess several fold.
The Eiffel Tower in 2015.
While I am grateful for some of the enhanced security measures, there is a delicate balance between abundance of caution and abridgment of access. The Eiffel Tower is an engineering marvel. On previous trips I loved to walk under the Tower and gaze up through the metal latticework. Unfortunately, the current climate has eliminated that view for me and many others.
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