Rome coach plan | Security in France

Rome coach plan

The Rome coach plan will still go ahead. In a judgment published this morning, the Consiglio di Stato found there were insufficient grounds to overturn the lower court’s original finding in favour of the Comune. In particular, it made reference to the primary importance of safeguarding the ‘patrimonio urbano’ as well as controlling both traffic and pollution. In this it appears to have accepted the Comune’s argument that the plan will be beneficial in at least some of these respects. Pending further communication with the city and a review of possible next steps among local stakeholders opposed to the plan, ETOA’s focus will be: sharing operational information as soon as we have it; gathering evidence of business impact. Please contact Sofie Jensen for more information.

Operational information in English about the plan can be found here. More detailed information in Italian can be found here. Permits can be purchased from 17th December. We have inquired whether proof of accommodation must be provided in order to apply for a Zone C permit. Despite repeated requests both from us and the city’s tourism department, this information has not yet been provided by Roma Mobilità.

Paris protests

Following two weekends of violent protests in Paris, another protest by the ‘gilets jaunes’ movement is planned for tomorrow Saturday 15th December. For latest updates on closures, please click here. Updates can also be found here. Latest information at the time of writing is that the closure of museums, monuments and parks currently include Arc de Triomphe, Chapelle Expiatoire, Conciergerie, Panthéon, Sainte-Chapelle, Catacombes, Musée Cernuschi, Musée d’Art moderne de la Ville de Paris, Petit Palais – Musée des Beaux-Arts de la ville de Paris and Tours de la cathédrale Notre-Dame. Several metro station will be closed as well. The most up to date information about public transport closures can be found here or at RATP’s website.

We might expect more central Paris attractions to be closed by Saturday. We therefore encourage our members to visit other attractions outside Paris which will remain open like Chateau d’Auvers-sur-Oise and La Vallée Village for shopping in the north; or Chateau de Vaux-le-Vicomte or Chateau de Fontainebleau in the south of Paris.

The Gare du Nord tourist office will be open as usual 8:30am – 6:30pm. The customer platform will be standing by at +33 (0) 1 49 52 42 63 from 9am until 6:30pm to answer questions. The Twitter Paris Je t’aime account should be a source of up to date information.

Strasbourg shooting incident

Following Tuesday’s tragic shooting incident at the Christmas market in Strasbourg, the French Interior Ministry has stepped up its national security alert system with increased police security measures to ensure optimal security throughout the French territory. This initiative involves increased presence on the ground and a more significant mobilisation of the police forces, together with increased vigilance and the implementation of private safety measures at sites that welcome the public (shops, tourist sites, trade shows) throughout the country. The public authorities and tourism industry professionals have made security a national priority (video surveillance – 1,200 cameras in public spaces and 50,000 in transport). The Christmas market in Strasbourg re-opens today. You can find recent updates on closures and disruptions in Strasbourg here.