Safety and Scams

Eiffel Tower workers staged a one-day strike on May 22, closing the iconic landmark, to protest the problem of rampant pickpocketing around the site. Employees asked for a “formal guarantee” to stop pickpockets, who, in addition to targeting tourists, harass staff. 

Parisian authorities have said that there will be 26,000 police officers and government agents throughout the city in 2015 to try to reduce pickpocketing.

More than seven million people a year pay to visit the Eiffel Tower.

On Jan. 7 in Paris, France, two men, brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi — armed with assault rifles — entered the offices of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical French magazine, and opened fire on the staff. They killed 11 people and injured another 11, then killed a police officer as they made their escape. Witnesses reported the men yelled “God is great” and “We have avenged the Prophet Muhammad” during their attack.

Dear Globetrotter:

Levels of crime and violence in El Salvador remain critically high, the US Department of State continues to warn. Since January 2010, 33 US citizens have been murdered in El Salvador, including a 9-year-old child in December 2013.

Near Munich, Germany, the wrought-iron gate at the Dachau concentration camp was stolen on Nov. 3. The gate proclaimed the slogan “Arbeit Macht Frei” (“Work Makes You Free”), as did the gate to the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, which was stolen in December 2009. Recovered later, the Auschwitz gate had been cut into three pieces, and a Swedish man with neo-Nazi ties was arrested for having ordered its theft.

I read the item about the scourge of pickpockets abroad (Aug. ’14, pgs. 2, 67). When I was in London in July 2014, newspapers were rife with reports of well-organized gangs preying on people in all European cities.

I recall a trick attempted on my wife and me in Rome some years ago. An old lady surrounded by young kids overwhelmed us, throwing a large newspaper in our faces while her scrum of children tore at us, attempting to get into our pockets and handbags.

I have just read my first issue of ITN, which I received unsolicited, and have just subscribed.

• I loved the article by the 16-year-old about her stay in Montpellier and that region of France (Aug. ’14, pg. 38), which I’m very familiar with. It is probably our favorite part of the world.

The US Department of State warns travelers that violent crime in Venezuela is pervasive, both in the capital, Caracas, and the interior. According to the nongovernmental organization Venezuelan Violence Observatory, there were 24,763 homicides in Venezuela in 2013. 

In 2013, 625 kidnappings were reported to the authorities in Venezuela. It is estimated that roughly 80% of kidnappings go unreported there.

The US Department of State warns of the risk of traveling in Mexico due to security threats posed by organized criminal groups in the country. US citizens have been the targets of violent crimes, such as kidnapping, carjacking and robbery.

Nearly 70 kidnappings of US citizens were reported to the US Embassy and consulates in Mexico in the first six months of 2014. While kidnappings can occur anywhere, the states with the highest numbers of kidnappings in 2013 were Tamaulipas, Guerrero, Michoacán, Estado de México and Morelos.