Parking tickets, fines and towing…mafia.

In Paris, as in most metropolitan centers, parking is at a premium. As we approach the Presidential elections, there is usually a lot of hope, if not rumor, that all traffic violations will be pardoned. This year, it appears that the main presidential hopefuls have declared that there will be no such pardon this time. In a game reminiscent of chicken, as we approach the elections, it seems that more and more people are parking illegally and the wardens are laying out more and more parking tickets. The towing trucks appear in force and uplift full rows of cars with impunity, if not self-righteousness, themselves. I witness this with a mild level of disgust as I suspect the involvement of the mafia. At these times, one will equally as easily find rows of illegally parked cars (often the likes of brightly colored Lamborghini’s, Ferrari’s, etc.) untouched. One has to suspect that the “voituriers” or the car service porters have paid off the police for the cars under their regard. Anyway, you get the feeling that the existing government is trying to raise money… If only the taxi drivers were more agreeable, I’d prefer to take them when going out during the evenings than deal with the parking hassles…