Student journalists see pervasive vigilance more than a show of force

By Amanda Baptie and Victor Borges

PARIS – With the recent terrorist attacks in Europe, including in France, we, a group of travel writing students studying in Paris this summer, expected to encounter a lot of heavily armed guards on Bastille Day. We expected to see them at every busy street, landmark and subway station in Paris.

We did not.

What we did find is security checks at most shopping malls, high-end stores and boutiques up and down the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, the main parade route on Bastille Day. Almost every shop on the boulevard installed clean-cut men in suits to check every bag coming through their doors. These security guards were very friendly, but it was clear they were serious about security.

Barricades lined the sidewalks of the Champs-Élysées the day before the big holiday, waiting to be put into place the next morning. The large, busy road would be closing at 6 a.m. so that everything could be set up by the parade start at 10 a.m.

With the U.S. President Donald Trump and French Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron expected to participate, we were curious about what locals and tourists alike thought about the unusually high security measures.

At the start of our walk down the avenue, reporters jogged up to us holding a large video camera and a boom microphone. With excited looks in their eyes and bright smiles, the pair eagerly requested an interview.

Charlotte Dardelin, left, and Dom Hutton of French TV’s M6 news team interviewing Amanda Baptie and Victor Borges, student travel writers studying in Paris with European Council – University System of Georgia.

Charlotte Dardelin and Dom Hutton asked us exactly the same question that we were about to ask them: “What are your thoughts on the security measures for Bastille Day tomorrow?”

After a quick interview, it was our turn to ask the questions.

Although the TV reporters said they were not going to be on the avenue for the parade the next day, they had been assigned to get a story on public opinion on the “reinforced security” planned for the holiday.

That they were assigned this story only emphasized how important security in fact is in the capital city one year after the brazen terror attack on Bastille Day in Nice, France, in the south.

Hutton and Dardelin said they would be avoiding the festivities, but not because of terrorism. They simply didn’t want to get caught in the big crowds, they said.

The reoccurring theme we found among the people we talked to up and down the Champs-Élysées was similar, that they were there the day before the holiday so they could avoid it when the big crowds arrived.

One couple, the Mohammeds from New York, weren’t even aware that the next day was a national holiday.

“Seeing the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower” were their primary objectives while visiting Paris, said Naseif Mohammed.

When asked about how he felt about the security situation in the city, he said that the visible show of force made he and his wife feel safer.

For most tourists, it seemed to us that the primary goal was to move about the city and that a big national holiday coincident with their visit both got in the way (barriers, shut-down metro lines) and made their visit more interesting (parades and fireworks).

Some of the people we talked to were more interested in talking about Trump’s arrival than Bastille Day itself.

Mackem Blal, a security guard, said security is typically fairly high, but with Trump visiting, Paris could expect even more. We didn’t find any Trump fans in the French capital, and it seemed to us that however our interviews began, they eventually turned to Trump-related criticism or complaints.

Also clear is that the threat of terror attacks, and the need for higher levels of security, has not produced a fearful populace. Families shopped. Tourists snapped photos. People milled and meandered.

The added military and police presence seemed to enhance rather than impede the French spirit of not letting anyone else dictate to the French how to live. Bastille Day would go on, and whatever bravery that might be required would have to do with braving the crowds, not risking bodily harm due to an attack.