As Chicago works to entice foreign tourists, France is telling its citizens to avoid Chicago’s West Side and the South Side below 59th Street.
The warning is on the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, which also warns about three Cleveland suburbs – Cleveland Heights, Lakewood and Euclid, which have been removed Friday after “reactions” to their being listed, according to a Chicago Tribune article.
Other nations’ ministries caution travelers about U.S. travel with concerns about terrorism, crime and earthquakes. Canada says firearms possession and violent crime are more common in the U.S., and warns about “break-ins, assaults and pickpocketing” in the Miami area. The UK warns about violent crime along Mexico’s border with California, New Mexico and Texas, urging tourists to avoid the border crossing into Ciudad Juarez.
The French site also discouraged travelers from traversing Philadelphia, central Cleveland at night or central Detroit after the close of business. In New York, it urges travelers not to travel at night to Harlem, the Bronx, or Central Park, and to exercise vigilance in Times Square or at the Statue of Liberty.