Are the French shunning rudeness?
It was Paris for me last week — no better place for a relaxed city break, lovely walks, cafes, wines, French food and of course the aroma of fresh bread which fills the air when you pass a bakery. The only problem with Paris though is the well-known French rudeness. They don't like speaking in English and they make it known if you speak in English, by their cold response. But this time I noticed a marked difference, be it in stores, restaurants or bars. People made an effort to make you comfortable and help you with a splatter of English, even by those who barely knew a few words of the language. May be the French foreign minister Laurent Fabius' instructions are beginning to have influence in the world's most visited country.
Recently, the French were urged to be "more welcoming" as the country prepares to launch a multimillion-euro tourist fund to boost tourist numbers to 100 million by 2020 (they had 84 million tourists last year). Tourism accounts for two million jobs in France and seven per cent of its wealth.
Apparently, the minister unveiled the fund after he received a special report on the state of tourism warning that the world flocks to France but often leaves less than impressed with the reception. It warned that the country was hamstrung by the French people's "difficult relationship with service and by extension our relation to others". The report said: "The country is considered a must-see destination where expectations are high...but satisfaction ratings are 30 per cent below the European average in terms of price-quality ratio."
Not surprisingly, Britons deemed the French the least welcoming hosts in Europe and the TripAdvisor website found foreigners voted Paris the rudest city in Europe, while other researchers have reported that visitors thought it had the least friendly locals, the most unpleasant taxi drivers and the most aggressive waiters. I have to admit it's a welcome change. Even the metro has announcements now at platforms like 'mind the gap'.
But another change on the streets of Paris made me quite sad, though probably safer. There is a very notable rise of armed soldiers, police on the streets of the city. It is just a reminder of the sad Charlie Hebdo tragedy and the increased security threat from terrorists to the country. It's evident France is taking the matter seriously. It's the sad reality of the times we live in.
Fencing France
I was lucky to have had a comfortable journey to Paris on the Eurostar. The day after I reached the services were suspended after a ferry workers strike took a nasty turn and illegal immigrants used the opportunity to create havoc in the Channel Tunnel. Migrants trying to board Channel Tunnel trains has become, not just a headache, but a serious concern for the UK. Now Britain will be sending a two-mile long fence to France. It hopes it will help prevent the dramatic escalation of migrants who have been seen trying to hide in vehicles waiting to board Channel Tunnel services at Coquelles at the entrance of the tunnel and at the ferry port of Calais.
A sign of the scale of the challenge the authorities face, is that last year the Border Force stopped 39,000 people from trying to enter Britain illegally, twice the figure seen in 2013. Let's see what a fencing does to determined illegal migrants.
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Aristic auto-rickshaws for London
A few years ago we spotted brightly painted elephants (not real ones of course!) around London and giant Fabergé eggs hidden around various street corners. Now, Londoners are enjoying spotting a 20-strong fleet of high-colour auto rickshaws, which are plying on our roads to raise money for the late Mark Shand's charity Elephant Family. As an Indian-origin friend told me how his daughter was really excited when she saw one near Paddington, because she loves 'auto-rickshaw rides the most, when we go to India.'
I have spotted a few and they are truly eye-catching. Flitting around London, these traffic-stopping mobile art pieces have been designed by a group of international artists, fashionistas and milliners to support Travels to My Elephant, a global auto-rickshaw race to help save Asia's elephants. Among those who have designed the rickshaws are Diane von Furstenberg, Carolina Herrera, Bompas & Parr, Mulberry and Philip Colbert and The Rodnik Band.
These stunning rickshaws sponsored by Selfridges are ferrying guests to and from well-known London venues including the Chiltern Firehouse, Rosewood London and The Goring and are available to public for free. But, at the end of your trip you are encouraged to give a donation to the cause. It is obviously not easy to spot an empty one for a ride in this high tourist inflow season. But you have the chance to buy one through online auction platform Paddle8 — they're road-ready and come complete with seat belts and a top speed of 30 Kmph.
The London fleet is inspired by the wilder race of 40 auto-rickshaws over 500 km in India in November across Madhya Pradesh.
Londoners have a chance to enjoy a ride in one of them until the end of July!
Ring of steel around Wimbledon
Wimbledon is back, and while we look out for weather predictions, hoping for a sunny championship, the concern this year is different. Following the Tunisian attacks, and the Islamic State expected to hatch further plots in the next few weeks during Ramzan, Wimbledon will be circled in a steel ring.
High security alert was obvious after police seized a drone being flown over a golf club near Wimbledon and one could see a large uniformed presence at public events like the Armed Forces Day and the Pride March in London.
The 7/7 anniversary coincides with the second week of Wimbledon so we are expecting armed police to make a ring of steel around Wimbledon. British security is often very discreet so we can be sure we will also have an increased number of plain clothes officers on duty.
