As we all know, Paris is a world-famous romantic city, attracting countless tourists to make pilgrimages every year. Recently, however, a video by a Chinese blogger shattered the image of Paris.
In the video, the blogger bluntly broke the news that the streets of Paris are full of poop smells, and there are few public toilets and they have to charge, which immediately sparked heated discussions on the Internet.
The Paris cultural and tourism department probably never dreamed that the romantic Paris that has been carefully shaped over the years will be said to be a "rural gathering". Netizens also laughed after watching it, and ridiculed "Paris Cultural Tourism is in a hurry". So, what is the truth of the matter?
The blogger broke the news: The streets of Paris on a rainy day are full of poop smell
The blogger, Big Cousin, recently filmed a video during a trip to Paris about what he saw and heard in Paris. In the video, the eldest cousin complained that the streets of Paris were dirty and messy, full of garbage, and the air was filled with a smell of poop.
Every rainy day, the smell is even more pronounced, and the road is full of dog poop, which you will step on if you are not careful. The eldest cousin said that Paris is not at all as romantic as imagined, but feels like a dirty rural market.
In addition to the poor environment, the eldest cousin also complained that there were few public toilets in Paris. After walking around for a few hours, I couldn't see the toilet along the way, and finally came across one, and I actually had to charge 2 euros for a time, which is equivalent to 16 yuan.
The eldest cousin reluctantly said that he didn't expect that in Paris, an international metropolis, going to the toilet would become a luxury.
The big cousin's complaining video hit the pain points of many people at once. Many netizens who have been to Paris have agreed, saying that the health situation in Paris is indeed worrying.
A female netizen said that she traveled to Paris with her girlfriend last year, but as soon as she got off the plane, she was dizzy from the stench of the airport toilet.
When I left the airport, I was greeted by piles of garbage on the side of the street and "landmines" left by various pet dogs. Xiaomei said helplessly: "We spent a lot of money to come to Paris, just to see these dirty and messy scenes, it's really not worth it." "
Another netizen felt the same way. He said he spent a week in Paris last year, "swimming" in the garbage and dog poop heaps every day. What made him even more devastated was that one day he couldn't hold it anymore and wanted to find a toilet to make it easier, but he didn't even see a shadow of a public toilet after going around for a long time.
In desperation, I had to solve it on the spot like the locals. "In Paris, open defecation on the side of the road seems to have become a 'fashion', but I am an upright Chinese, but I have no choice but to do this kind of thing, and I have lost face. "
In fact, Paris has a long history of health problems. According to local media reports, the city of Paris spends hundreds of millions of euros a year to clean up street garbage and dog poop.
However, little has been achieved, and the situation of the streets is not improving, but is still increasing. In this regard, many Parisians are also complaining.
An old gentleman complained that he had lived in Paris for most of his life, and that he was very unhappy when he saw the city getting dirtier and dirtier, "Paris used to be an elegant and romantic city, but now it is full of garbage and feces, and even the benches on the side of the road are occupied by homeless people, and there is no place to sit." This is still a romantic city, and it is clearly a 'dung pit'!"
In the face of popular dissatisfaction, the Paris city government is also under great pressure. It is reported that in order to improve the city's appearance and environment, the government has to invest a lot of manpower and material resources every year, but with little effect.
One city official reluctantly said that cleaning up street garbage and dog poop alone would require tens of thousands of cleaners, as well as a large number of cleaning vehicles and equipment, which would be a significant expense.
What's even more a headache for the government is that many dog owners are too low-quality, and they never clean up the dog poop when they walk their dogs, which leads to the problem of dirty streets.
"We have regulations in place that require dog owners to clean up dog poop or face hefty fines," officials said. But many people don't take it seriously at all, they should pull and pull, they should throw it away, and it is difficult to enforce the law. "
In addition to the difficulty of management, the infrastructure construction in Paris has not kept up. It is understood that due to historical reasons, the sewer system in Paris is relatively old, and many places are blocked all year round, resulting in a cross-flow of sewage and a stinking smell.
Moreover, the number of public toilets in Paris is far from sufficient, and in many places there is not even a toilet, so many people have to solve the problem on the spot.
In this regard, some members of the public have suggested that the Government should increase investment in improving the sewer system as soon as possible, and substantially increase the number of public toilets, so that it is convenient for the public to go out. But the government doesn't seem to buy it, saying that finances are tight and there is no money for these "face projects".
It seems that there is still a long way to go to completely change the sanitary situation in Paris. However, the video of the eldest cousin's complaint at least sounded the alarm bell, and some environmental groups and citizen groups have also begun to take action, calling on the public to consciously maintain environmental hygiene, not littering, and not dumping sewage. Some groups also launched a "dog poop sweeping" activity, organizing volunteers to regularly clean up dog poop on the streets to improve the city's environment.
Paris Cultural Tourism is in a hurry, and years of publicity have been ruined
The Parisian cultural tourism department probably never dreamed that the image of a romantic Paris that had worked hard for many years would be shattered by a video of a Chinese blogger. A netizen joked: "Paris Cultural Tourism is in a hurry, and years of publicity have been ruined." "
Some netizens laughed and said that the eldest cousin is simply the nemesis of "admiring foreign and flattering", and he feels good about himself in the cultural and tourism departments of various countries, which led to a frying in the comment area.
In fact, the Parisian cultural tourism department has been vigorously promoting the romantic image of Paris for many years. From the Eiffel Tower to the Louvre, from the Champs-Élysées to the banks of the Seine, every corner of Paris seems to be filled with elements of romance.
The department also regularly advertises in the media to promote Paris's food, fashion, art, etc., in an effort to make Paris a fantastic tourist destination.
According to statistics, in 2019 alone, Paris attracted nearly 40 million tourists, with tourism revenues of up to 21 billion euros, accounting for 13% of the city's GDP. It can be said that tourism has become one of the pillar industries of Paris.
In this regard, some netizens questioned what is the real appearance of Paris? Is it a dream paradise in the promotional film, or is it a dirty manure pit under the lens of the big cousin? Should the Paris cultural and tourism department reflect on whether it should also make great efforts to improve the city's appearance and enhance the tourist experience while vigorously publicizing it?
After all, no matter how beautiful a promotional video is, it can't stand the test of reality. When tourists come, they see a scene full of garbage and public security, and no amount of publicity is in vain.
How can the tourism industry respond to the "real Paris"?
Behind the propaganda of romance, Paris is full of chaos in terms of environmental sanitation and law and order. In addition to the dirty mess complained about by the eldest cousin, pickpocketing and robbery have also occurred in Paris in recent years.
Especially in some popular spots, thieves fly around like flies, and tourists can be looted if they are not careful. What is even more worrying is that there have been several terrorist attacks in Paris, which have cast a shadow over the city.
Back in 2017, a 40-person Chinese tour group was robbed in Paris and suffered heavy losses.
Everyone knows that Paris is about to host the Olympic Games, but the security problem in the city is still quite a headache recently.
Just two days ago, a Chinese blogger posted a video, saying that when he was playing in Paris, things were thrown at every turn, and the thief was unscrupulous, and he grabbed it if he wanted to.
By all indications, Paris is not as perfect as it seems. As tourists, we certainly want to see the dreamy scenes in the promotional video, but we also need to understand the real situation of the destination and be mentally prepared.
This incident caused a stir on the Internet, and a group of netizens also said that they had encountered similar unfortunate things when traveling in Paris. What's even funnier is that at the Oxbridge Boat Race in Paris, there were athletes who contracted E. coli because of the poor environment, which makes people wonder how bad the health situation in Paris is.
If Paris wants to host the Olympics so much, isn't it just to take the opportunity to improve the city's image and attract more investment and tourists? But as soon as the blogger's video came out, the image of Paris plummeted, no wonder the bosses of the Paris cultural and tourism department were anxious like ants on a hot pot.
You know, we Chinese tourists are well-known local tyrants, and they are a new force in the Paris tourism market. If this is because of the security problem affecting our tourists, I am afraid that the face of Paris will not be able to hang up.
Seeing that the Olympic Games are coming, the Paris Olympic Organizing Committee and government departments should pay attention to it as soon as possible, find ways to improve public security and health, and restore the city's image. Otherwise, no matter how lively the Olympics are, it will be difficult to hide the "lining" problem in Paris.
So, how should the tourism industry respond to the "real Paris"? City authorities need to learn from the pain and make great efforts to improve environmental sanitation.
The tourism industry should abandon excessive packaging and false advertising, and show tourists the face of the destination in a more authentic and objective way. Rather than whitewashing the peace, it is better to introduce the advantages and disadvantages of the city in a factual manner, so that tourists can have a comprehensive understanding.
For tourists, it is also important to adjust their mindset when visiting Paris, and not to be completely fooled by the publicity.
You can choose to stay in some of the less crowded neighborhoods, away from the hustle and bustle of popular attractions, take care of your belongings and be more aware of safety when you go out, and be tolerant when you encounter a dirty and messy environment, after all, no city is perfect.
epilogue
The big cousin's Parisian experience undoubtedly casts a shadow over the image of the romantic capital. How can a dirty and messy city carry people's yearning for a better life? The city is cleaner and tidier, and the tourism promotion is more real and objective, so that we can truly appreciate the charming style of Paris and feel the real romance.