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Kardashian robbery does not prove Paris unsafe, mayor

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo insisted on Monday that the armed robbery of US reality TV star Kim Kardashian does not mean the French capital is unsafe for foreign tourists. But a leading right-wing politician declared it showed the "urgency" of improving security in the city.

Journalists outside the building where Kim Kardashian was staying
Journalists outside the building where Kim Kardashian was staying Reuters/Gonzalo Fuentes
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Kardashian's ordeal at the hands of armed men posing as police officers, in which jewellery worth nearly 10 million euros was stolen, was "a very rare act, that took place in a private place", Hidalgo said in a statement.

The reality TV star was staying in a rented luxury apartment when the robbery took place.

It does not "call into question ... security in the public domain in Paris", the statement declared.

Hidalgo expressed "complete confidence" in the police to "speedily identify and apprehend the perpetrators" and pointed out that two million people took part in this weekend's Nuit Blanche citywide all-night art event without any incidents taking place.

Right-winger calls for urgent action

But former ecology minister Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, who is in the race to become the mainstream right's candidate in next year's presidential election, said it highlighted the "general urgency" of improving security.

The "very expensive" advertising campaign to attract tourists to Paris "have just been brutally invalidated by the Kim Kardashian affair", she told Europe 1 radio.

Kosciusko-Morizet pointed to muggings of Asian tourists, which has led Paris police to enlist the help of their Chinese colleagues, while the local Chinese community has also protested against attacks on its members, leading to the death of one man.

A number of thefts of luxury watches on the capital's Champs Elysées avenue have also been reported, along with various other crimes against wealthy visitors.

Tourism and terror

With tourism a major source of income for the city, Paris is trying to revive confidence among potential visitors, which was damaged by last year's terror attacks.

The attacks temporarily reduced the number of foreigners coming to study, the Cité internationale universitaire, which provides lodging for some of them, revealed on Monday.

The number of applications for rooms fell 15 percent but picked up again after three or four months, according to representative Carine Camby.

There are 25-27,000 applications for 6,000 places every year, she said.

 

 

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