Trying to get from his downtown Paris Airbnb to Champs-Élysées turned out to be an impossible task for American tourist and eTN staff member Dmytro Makarov. The subway bypassed all 9 downtown stops before letting passengers off on the outskirts of Paris.

Getting back to the Airbnb turned out to be a similar challenge and for Dmytro ended up being in the middle of 2 rival protests: the Yellow Vests on the first anniversary of their protest movement and another neighborhood protest in his Palestinian neighborhood against Israel.

This weekend was a different type of holiday experience for tourists visiting the French capital today.

Amazingly, according to Dmytro, many locals enjoyed their regular talks and meetings in neighborhood coffee shops and bars while others decided to be part of a scary crowd of protestors.

“It was a ‘spooky’ experience when watching it from a cafe close to the Airbnb,” said Dmytro.

On the Place d’Italie in southern Paris, demonstrators, many clad in black and hiding their faces, set bins on fire and hurled projectiles at riot police while building barricades.