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Paris Metro scammer arrested after selling €150 ‘super ticket’ to American tourists

A man has been arrested after he was caught selling a single Paris Metro ticket (cost: €1.90) to elderly American tourists for €150, telling them it was a 6-day 'super ticket'.

Published: 15 May 2023 17:06 CEST
Paris Metro scammer arrested after selling €150 'super ticket' to American tourists
Photo by JOEL SAGET / AFP

The 30-year-old was arrested in Paris’ Third Arrondissement after a police officer caught him selling the standard single Metro ticket to a couple of American tourists, aged 74 and 76.

Police say it is possible that many more people have fallen victim to the scam, in which he sold the single ticket claiming that it was a six-day pass allowing unlimited travel.

The man, who was already known to police for similar swindles, has admitted attempted fraud. As he is a non French national he has been served with an order to leave the country.

Paris tourists are frequently the targets of pickpockets and scammers, particularly on public transport. 

The 14 scams that tourists in Paris should look out for

In Paris, a single ticket costs €1.90 and a carnet of 10 tickets can be bought via an app or travel pass for €16.90. The carnet of 10 cardboard tickets is being phased out, but tourists can still buy multiple tickets at a time from machines in the Metro, bus or tram stations which can be used across the transport network.

The city of Paris also offers a variety of apps and travel cards that can be used by visitors to make travel by public transport easier.

A monthly Navigo pass that allows unlimited travel throughout Paris and the greater Paris region costs €84.10.

READ ALSO Paris Metro tickets, passes and apps explained

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SPORT

Macron condemns fan violence ahead of French football final

French President Emmanuel Macron condemned "with the greatest firmness" violence that broke out Saturday between rival football fans on their way to the French cup final that left 38 people hurt and a bus burnt to a crisp.

Published: 26 May 2024 08:31 CEST
Macron condemns fan violence ahead of French football final

The clashes erupted at a toll gate between fans of Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) headed to the evening’s match in the northern city of Lille, which Macron attended.

The violence struck 60 kilometres (40 miles) from Lille, where the final was being played because Paris’s Stade de France is being readied for this summer’s Olympics.

One bus was set on fire and two others damaged, local Nord department authorities said in a statement overnight, adding that 30 supporters and eight police officers were injured. Fourteen people required “medical attention”.

The clashes involved about 100 Lyon supporters and 200 PSG fans, a police source said.

Police prefect Bertrand Gaume said one group of supporters got out of their bus and attacked another carrying rival fans, who threw smoke bombs.

“There were very violent brawls” before police intervened, Gaume said, adding that one bus was left burnt out.

Mingling with the public in nearby Tourcoing ahead of the game, Macron said he “condemns all violence with the greatest firmness”, adding: “I hope that things will go as normally as possible this evening.”

Heavy security

Traffic on the major north-south A1 highway was interrupted in both directions.

The supporters’ group Paris Ultras Collective said in a statement that fans of the two clubs had been supposed to take different routes to the match, but Lyon fans attacked a bus carrying PSG supporters.

Police did not indicate which group of fans launched the attack.

Olympique Lyonnais (Lyon) said in a statement it “condemns this violence”.

The French Football Federation called the violence “unacceptable”.

After the match in Lille, which PSG won 2-1, supporters left the stadium calmly, amid a heavy police presence.

Earlier, fans of the rival teams had mingled all day without incident ahead of the 9:00 pm (1900 GMT) start time.

The regional police authority said 1,000 officers were on duty in the town and a further 1,000 in the stadium.

The local authorities had also put in place a number of measures for the high-risk match.

Fans were forbidden to move “outside the areas reserved for them” near the stadium until 04:00 am Sunday, and authorities banned the public consumption of alcohol “in a glass or metal container” until the same time.

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