train to Nice

After a week in Paris this coming summer, my husband and I plan to take the train to Nice, spend the night, and then go to Corse to be with friends. I posted a question on the Nice Forum about a hotel the other day and got a lovely suggestion from Parisbaby but today I got the following message from someone else. Does anyone have any information on this or comments?

%26quot;I certainly wouldn%26#39;t recommed a train in France, especially from Paris to the south. The recent incidents on TGV-trains to and from Nice have been incredible. Huge groups of young North-Africans have been aggressing other passengers, stolen their belongings, destroying the interior of the trains, and they even raped a young lady on the train from Nice to Lyon a few days ago.

Even in Paris the atmosphere has changed a lot and it%26#39;s recommended to avoid especially the 9th and 10th arrondissements after dark. Also the areas near Place de la Bastille are unsafe. Better to be safe than sorry.

If I were you I would consider either taking a flight, or even skipping the Nice part of the trip. And don%26#39;t even think about Marseille.%26quot;

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Hi mediamama,

Interesting I cannot locate the original post regarding this.

In any case in the post there was a link to the news article referring to the incident. After reading the news article I would not let it deter you from your travel plans. The incident occurred on News Years Eve and according to the article the young North=Africans did destroy the interior of the trains and sexually harrassed a young lady(i.e. inappropiate touching). According to the article they related it to cheap fares(1.50 Euros) on the train and New Years Eve. The article said nothing about a rape. YMCA posted a response which to the original post and will report on any incidents or lack thereof upon return from Nice in March.

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The incident you are referring to was isolated and frankly could happen in any big city.

Do not get contaminated by paranoia!

Best way to go to Corsica would be to fly out of Paris especially if you do not have time to enjoy Nice.

I took a boat from Marseille to Corsica, was long and relaxing but I had time!

In Paris I live on the edge of the 9th arr. and have not had the urge to move out yet.

Listen to real people who live in Paris/France. Better live your life than be afraid of exagerated danger.

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hi,

i would definately not let anything deter you from goin to nice, it will be well worth the long train journey.

The trains in france will be like in any other country, you just have to be cautious especially if your an %26quot;obvious tourist%26quot;. as far as it seems the stories have been exagerated and the events seemed isolated.

I would%26#39;nt worry to much about it, although i would recommend you try www.easyjet.com they do low cost flights from paris to nice and if you book it early enough you could get a flights there for about 20euros each (approx 24dollars)

hope ive helped in some way, enjoy your trip x

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I do think that was an isolated and highly unusual incident--and far less likely to happen on a trip originating in Paris. I haven%26#39;t heard anything about other incidents, only the original one, and nothing either about problems in Marseille. If someone has a link to news reports about new attacks, please post!

Friends of ours recently spent three weeks in Paris and reported absolutely no problems the entire time. The bonjourparis.com site, a good resource for all things French, has reports from ex-pats living in Paris, and they too say there have not been any problems.

However, I agree about avoiding the area around the Bastille--it%26#39;s a bit seedy at the

best of times.

As for skipping the Nice part of the trip, why? The French police aren%26#39;t about to let anything disturb tourism there.

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I am traveling on trains in the Nice area at least twice a year and have never felt unsafe. The incident was an isolated one where kids that usually can%26#39;t afford ttrain tickets from Marseille or Avignon to nIce got them for real cheap because it was New Year%26#39;s Eve and they got probably drunk and stoned and out of their minds... Don%26#39;t worry they will never get easy tickets like these next year.

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Put it this way, there%26#39;s no way SNCF is going to run that cheap ticket deal on New Year%26#39;s Eve (or ever) again.

THe TGV is a very very safe train. Don%26#39;t worry for a second. I%26#39;ve taken it dozens of times and always feel great.

And don%26#39;t avoid Marseille at all cost...It%26#39;s really a nice city.

Les

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Thanks very much for all of your comments. I wasn%26#39;t really concerned, just interested and I definitely was not going to let it ruin our plans. I felt that the original poster was overly alarmed. I spoke to my friend in Corse and she said the same thing that some of you said, that it was teenagers who were drunk. Thanks again for your insight.