I think the posts dismissing the OP are mean spirited.

cravin H., there are no "no go zones" where you will have issues in Paris. Paris is a very safe city (subject, of course, to terrorist attacks, but that's a very different "risk", and minimal in any event). You have more risk of being scammed or pick pocketed, so those would be the issues I'd be focusing on, if you know where you want to visit, where you'll stay, etc.

The so called "no-go zones" list is a 20 year old list of urban areas drawn up by the French government as a prelude to a series of extremely large urban regeneration plans. The zones are called "ZUS" (zone urbaine sensible) and the list was reached by taking into account population, employment rates, income levels and crime.

Many of these areas have now been regenerated, but some are still troubled. However, you will not be attacked for being a non-muslim if you accidentally stray into one that has not been regenerated. At least one of the zones has a large Jewish population (the 19th in Paris), another has a Catholic Cathedral (St Denis, north of Paris). Another has a large Chinese, Hindu and gay population (Belleville, 20th Arr Paris). Quite a few of the zones are student campuses, because it apparently didn't occur to the list makers that many university students have low incomes (Tours, Chateauroux are two I know of).

It is not true that French law doesn't apply in the ZUS. The ZUS I visit most often (2 or 3 times a week) has a police station and a fire station. It is also a major rail exchange and has a thriving theatre scene. The local museum has excellent exhibitions, and they hold an annual arts festival which attracts thousands of people. It doesn't have a mosque, but it does have two Catholic chruches.

Fox News started these scare stories after the Charlie Hebdo attacks, and eventually were forced to issue an apology. Their terrorism expert was a man who falsely claimed for decades to be a CIA agent, and who has has now been sentenced to 33 months in prison for fraud.

+1 for Wiz

Let me add another "fringe" community that we found was well worth a visit, to see an unusual cathedral but also to experience an urban setting so different from the usual "tourist" Paris.

it was Creteil - Creteil Universite, to be exact, on line 8.

The Cathedral at Creteil is an ultra modern design, set in a quite appealing high rise community, surrounded by gardens and open spaces. It is, in Australian terms, a very multicultural community. We were greeted as we approached the cathedral - it was a Sunday afternoon so people were "on duty" - and we enjoyed a long and informative conversation with a charming older member of the community who proudly told us of the way this fascinating building was working as a centre for the whole multi-faith community at Creteil. We were even invited to step inside the cathedral where a ceremony (invitation only) for the induction of deacons was being conducted.

I tell this story to help balance any impression that places at the end of the line might be seen as somehow not for the visitor.

For a continous view of life on the outer edges of Paris - not the Banlieus though - try taking the trams that run in a huge arc from La Defense all the way round the south via Porte de Versailes and Porte de Vincennes to Porte de la Chapelle. Hop out, walk around for a look at Paris outside the inner arrondissements. It is wonderfully confirming to see that people and places can be so different and so much the same!

The Navigo is perfect for this kind of tour.

Someone mentioned this may have come from Breitbart, so I googled it and found an article from two days ago claiming that women are not welcome in St. Denis. Their source is reportedly a story first reported by France 2.

Here is the story: http://www.breitbart.com/london/2016/12/13/french-suburbs-no-go-zones-women/

I would like to emphasize that Breitbart is not a reliable source of news, but it is apparently a source of information for a large portion of the population.

Edited to note that although I have the same TA given image as the OP, we are not the same person :-)

I would hesitate to even use the term "news" and Breitbart in the same sentence.

:o)

I assume certain "news" sites are inflating a story about a café in St Denis where someone said they don't let their mother drink in a certain café because women aren't welcome there, and turning it into a big story.. It was on France2 about a week ago, and there was a flurry of comments about it from the perpetually ouraged until someone saw a picture of a kitten which distracted them.

Yet another "no-story" being used to distract people from what is happening in their own neighbourhood

There are no "no-go zones" in Paris. Next question?

No No Go zones in Paris ? yeah right.....

just like there are no No Go zones in London as well ......

believe what you will eh ?

Paris is the area inside the Peripherique ring road, and there are no "no go zones" in that area. The suburbs outside the Peripherique may have no go areas, but they are not legally in Paris

>just like there are no No Go zones in London as well ......<

Well, there aren't. Some areas are less attractive than others and experience more crime than others, just like any city, but the idea that there are areas where the police fear to tread is complete nonsense, just as it is for Paris.

Try not getting your news from social media or the hysterical end of the print media.