French Officials Say Riots, Fires Not Affecting Tourism Yet

Violence shaking the suburbs of French cities is threatening the country´s carefully cultivated image as one of the world´s favored travel destination.

The list of foreign governments urging tourists to exercise caution in France is growing, with Australia, Austria, Britain, the Netherlands, Germany, Japan, Denmark, Slovakia and the Czech Republic on Monday joining the United States, Russia and Hungary in issuing warnings to avoid riot-hit areas, especially at night. None are advising travelers to avoid France altogether, at least, not yet.

German travel agency TUI AG said the riots have drawn questions from customers. “We have received a couple of inquiries from people traveling to Paris who want to know the exact location of their hotel,” said TUI spokesman Kuzey Esener.

Last week, Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin announced that curfews would be imposed across France wherever they are needed and 9,500 police officers and gendarmes are being deployed to stop the riots.

Still, the nation´s tourism minister, in an interview last week with The Associated Press, said he felt that the international media was exaggerating the violence.

“You get the impression that France is awash with flames and blood, which is not at all the case,” said the minister, Leon Bertrand. “You cannot deny the images, but there are images and images.”

The issue is crucial for France because tourism is a vital sector of the economy, contributing nearly 7 percent of gross domestic product and sustaining, either directly or indirectly, 2 million jobs, Bertrand said.

France welcomed 75 million tourists in 2004, a boost for a country struggling with nearly 10 percent unemployment and sluggish growth.

The riots started October 27 in the northeastern suburbs of Paris but has spread and claimed its first victim late Sunday or early Monday: a 61-year-old beaten by an attacker while trying to extinguish a trash-can fire.