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The principle of this thread is the same as the original Leaving Paris thread, so if you're not familiar with the rules and the way the pictures are selected, check the original thread for an explanation. The pictures come from Google Street View, as in the former thread.
This time I have selected the shortest route. If you are in the very heart of Paris and you suddenly feel claustrophobic and wish to reach the open countryside, this is basically the shortest way to get there. There is no countryside closer to the center of Paris than the one we're gonna reach with these pics. The reason why the urbanized area doesn't extend as far from the center of Paris on this route as on the other routes is essentially because of CDG airport, which has prevented urbanization in that part of Greater Paris. So as you'll see on the last pics, we're not so much reaching a "real" countryside as we're reaching what can be more properly termed some undeveloped lands below CDG's flight paths.
The route to reach the closest countryside from the center of Paris crosses the dreadful "Banlieue Nord", i.e. the northern suburbs. These suburbs are the most ethnic, the most poverty-stricken, and the most violent in Greater Paris. The areas we're gonna cross have more than a third of their population born outside of France (essentially in North and Sub-saharan Africa). If we include the children of immigrants, then more than 50% of the population in the areas we're gonna cross are either immigrants or children of immigrants. Along our route thus lie some of Greater Paris's worst social and ethnic ghettoes ("cités" in French), and some of the most violent ones too, where I would highly discourage you from venturing after nightfall. In some of these ghettoes, young thugs now shoot at the police with military weapons at night. That's how bad the situation has become after years of refusal to integrate the City of Paris with its suburbs.
hno:
Of course, due to the strict rules of the thread (one random pictures every 500 meters), we may not necessarily see the worst ghettoes (sometimes a very violent ghetto lies just 200 meters before or after the pictures presented here, or just slightly off the avenues we're travelling on). Also, the North American forumers might be a bit surprised when looking at the pics, and might wonder whether I didn't exaggerate things a bit. Do not expect anything resembling the US ghettoes here. No run-down streets, no decrepit buildings with wooden planks obstructing windows. This is Europe after all. Public spaces still look manicured, even around the worst ghettoes. The violence is mostly hidden. But trust me, you wouldn't want to venture at night on most parts of the route we're gonna take.
Last but not least, the Banlieue Nord is also part of the so-called Red Belt, a Communist stronghold since the 1930s that surrounds central Paris to its north, east, and south-east. In many of the suburban municipalities that we're gonna cross, the French Communists are still in power (they control the municipal councils) and call the shots. This may of course explain that...
Alright, enough with the introduction. Now en route to the Banlieue Nord! Don't forget to wear your bulletproof vest.
PS: As with the former thread, try to guess where the Medieval heart of Paris stops (the city within its 14th century wall), and where the administrative City of Paris ends. In the end I'll tell you who guessed right.
Km 0: Place du Châtelet, in the very heart of Paris.
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Km 0.5:
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Km 1.0:
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Km 1.5:
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Km 2.0:
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Km 2.5:
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This time I have selected the shortest route. If you are in the very heart of Paris and you suddenly feel claustrophobic and wish to reach the open countryside, this is basically the shortest way to get there. There is no countryside closer to the center of Paris than the one we're gonna reach with these pics. The reason why the urbanized area doesn't extend as far from the center of Paris on this route as on the other routes is essentially because of CDG airport, which has prevented urbanization in that part of Greater Paris. So as you'll see on the last pics, we're not so much reaching a "real" countryside as we're reaching what can be more properly termed some undeveloped lands below CDG's flight paths.
The route to reach the closest countryside from the center of Paris crosses the dreadful "Banlieue Nord", i.e. the northern suburbs. These suburbs are the most ethnic, the most poverty-stricken, and the most violent in Greater Paris. The areas we're gonna cross have more than a third of their population born outside of France (essentially in North and Sub-saharan Africa). If we include the children of immigrants, then more than 50% of the population in the areas we're gonna cross are either immigrants or children of immigrants. Along our route thus lie some of Greater Paris's worst social and ethnic ghettoes ("cités" in French), and some of the most violent ones too, where I would highly discourage you from venturing after nightfall. In some of these ghettoes, young thugs now shoot at the police with military weapons at night. That's how bad the situation has become after years of refusal to integrate the City of Paris with its suburbs.
hno:Of course, due to the strict rules of the thread (one random pictures every 500 meters), we may not necessarily see the worst ghettoes (sometimes a very violent ghetto lies just 200 meters before or after the pictures presented here, or just slightly off the avenues we're travelling on). Also, the North American forumers might be a bit surprised when looking at the pics, and might wonder whether I didn't exaggerate things a bit. Do not expect anything resembling the US ghettoes here. No run-down streets, no decrepit buildings with wooden planks obstructing windows. This is Europe after all. Public spaces still look manicured, even around the worst ghettoes. The violence is mostly hidden. But trust me, you wouldn't want to venture at night on most parts of the route we're gonna take.
Last but not least, the Banlieue Nord is also part of the so-called Red Belt, a Communist stronghold since the 1930s that surrounds central Paris to its north, east, and south-east. In many of the suburban municipalities that we're gonna cross, the French Communists are still in power (they control the municipal councils) and call the shots. This may of course explain that...
Alright, enough with the introduction. Now en route to the Banlieue Nord! Don't forget to wear your bulletproof vest.
PS: As with the former thread, try to guess where the Medieval heart of Paris stops (the city within its 14th century wall), and where the administrative City of Paris ends. In the end I'll tell you who guessed right.
Km 0: Place du Châtelet, in the very heart of Paris.
Km 0.5:
Km 1.0:
Km 1.5:
Km 2.0:
Km 2.5:
