When it comes to France, I believe many people have the impression of a very prosperous and romantic holy place, where high-rise buildings, gold everywhere, and a lot of wealth are gathered here.
In fact, before I went to France, like everyone else, I felt that France was a very developed place, a very beautiful place, and I longed for it very much.
But when we actually went to France, we found that it was not the same as what we imagined, and it was not the same thing as what we saw on the news and what we learned in textbooks, so what is the real France like?
First impression of most people about France
It is about a few years ago, the rise of the Internet around the world, many people began to learn about domestic and foreign events from the Internet, and those who went out to travel will also make a strategy in advance on the Internet.
Paris was once a tourist destination longed for by Chinese, with nearly 2,000 years of history, synonymous with ancient and modern elegance and nobility, many people say that walking on the streets of Paris is like walking in the corridor of history.
But history cannot be the only label of Paris, with the evolution of the times, these terms have become yesterday's obsolete, and some people even have to fall behind, the city of Paris, it seems that it is not as developed as uploaded on the Internet.
Paris is the capital of France and the largest city in the territory, located in the Paris basin in north-central France, fed by the Seine.
The river runs through the entire city of Paris, dividing the city into two parts, the left bank and the right bank.
The southeast of the city flows into the Marne, and due to its geographical importance, Paris has always been a transport hub for France and Europe, and it is worth mentioning that the metro system here is indeed well developed, connecting all corners of the city and making it very easy to get around.
There are also two major airports, Charles de Gaulle and Orly, which are known as the busiest airports in Europe and are home to almost every visitor to France.
According to the data, Paris has a temperate oceanic climate, influenced by the Atlantic Ocean, with warm summers, cold winters, and more rainfall, which is suitable for agricultural development.
In France, the tourism industry accounts for 7% of the GDP, and Paris is a signboard city for overseas tourism, with many visa-free policies every year, attracting a large number of tourists to check in.
However, the fashionistas have always over-touted Paris, the city has a lot of problems, but few people know what it really is, and the crowd of tourists to France seems to be slowly decreasing in recent years.
As we mentioned earlier, Paris has a very developed metro network, and most of the stations are deployed underground, so many people will choose the metro first when they go out, which is cheap and convenient.
A well-known foreign map website collected subway data from October 2018 to June 2019, and finally listed a list, the most crowded subway in the world, Paris was on the list.
It can be seen that the Paris Metro Line 13 is on the list, according to the data, this line opened very early, and the passenger carrying capacity is very large, carrying up to 131 million passengers per year, you must know that there are not so many people in the whole of Paris, such data is very exaggerated.
When you actually arrive in France, you will know that the subway facilities here are very old, although they started relatively early, they were not designed with such a large number of passengers in mind, resulting in the subway being overcrowded and even less comfortable than the ride experience in the third and fourth tier countries.
Don't look at the residents here are tall and tall, everyone is dressed like gentlemen, and when it comes to taking the subway, everyone is in full shape, scrambling to get into the carriage, as if the supermarket is rushing to buy low-priced goods.
I believe that many friends who went to Paris for the first time were frightened by the scene of the subway, and it can be said that who refreshed our past cognition of the developed city of Paris.
Especially in summer, Paris is as hot as a stove, and you can't feel any smell when you walk into the subway station, but as soon as you enter the carriage, you will smell of sweat, smoke, and perfume...... Surround every passenger.
The locals have long been accustomed to this environment, and their faces are expressionless, except for the tourists who react violently, eager to pull out their gas masks and put them on.
A Parisian native of the overseas Internet once shared his experience of taking the metro line 13.
Whether in the carriage or on the platform, remember not to get in the way, otherwise you will be squeezed out of the way by passengers getting on and off the train, and those who are lightweight will even be taken out of the carriage.
If there are other means of transportation, don't rush hour to enter the subway station, and try to keep the escalator to the right to make room for those who are in a hurry.
Due to the heavy load on the subway, sometimes there will be power outages, remember not to panic, look less at the phone to keep the battery sufficient, and the backup power can be connected in a while.
According to Bloomberg, tourism accounts for almost 7 percent of France's gross domestic product, but many people come to Paris with a feeling of being "fooled", and this feeling starts from the moment they get off the plane.
A 20-year-old college student from Shanghai said that Paris was the first place in his life to travel, and he was full of expectations before departure, but he was disappointed after a few days of travel.
On the third day of arriving in Paris, the wallet was stolen, the streets were littered with cigarette butts and garbage, and the roads were dirty, but the French didn't care, they seemed to get used to it.
On the park benches, homeless people can be seen everywhere, their clothes are in tatters, and when they wake up, they go to the welfare home to receive free food.
The architecture of Paris is indeed very classical, but there is no prosperity of developed countries, and some people even complain that the buildings of China's first-tier cities are grander than France, and the security environment is also difficult to describe, and it is common for tourists to lose things.
The waiters in some restaurants are also rude, they don't even speak English, they are even busier when it comes to the meal, the service attitude is uncomfortable, and they often receive complaints from customers.
Perhaps, the French fashionable and romantic label is slowly fading and not developing.
Text: Uncle Luo Ying
Edited by Uncle Luo Ying
Resources:
China Daily's report on "tickets are too expensive, old transportation facilities, and the accessibility of the Paris Olympics is "questioned".
The Paper's report on "Bloomberg: Paris is dirty, messy, and has a high crime rate, and is driving away Chinese tourists".