‘No problems at 3 am’: French woman says India safer than France for solo walks
While she acknowledged India’s road safety issues due to traffic, she emphasized that she has felt safer from public harassment here than back home.
- Aug 3, 2025,
- Updated Aug 3, 2025 4:38 PM IST
Discussions around women’s safety often place India under a harsh spotlight, with international media portraying it as a country where women face constant risks in public spaces. This has led to sweeping generalisations that brand India as unsafe — especially for women travellers.
Challenging this narrative, a French woman recently shared that she feels safer in India than in her own country. Speaking from personal experience, she said she has not faced public harassment in India — unlike in France, where such encounters are more frequent.
“People in France think India is very unsafe,” she says. “But I don’t feel that way.”
Her remarks underline how lived realities can differ sharply from global perceptions. Comparing both countries, she said: “In France, someone may stop you on the street and ask for your bag or try to grab it. That kind of thing hasn’t happened to me in India.”
She noted that even walking alone at 3 am in India hasn’t caused her any concern — a sharp contrast to her experience in France. “As a woman, I have walked alone in India at 3 am and did not encounter any problems,” she said.
While she acknowledged India’s road safety issues due to traffic, she emphasized that she has felt safer from public harassment here than back home. “Public spaces in India feel more secure to me,” she added.
Her perspective has resonated online, sparking conversations about how entire nations are often judged based on narrow or extreme narratives. Many users have responded with similar experiences from different parts of India, questioning the accuracy of widely held assumptions.
She didn’t claim that either India or France is entirely safe or unsafe. Instead, her experience points to how individual stories can challenge conventional beliefs — and remind us that safety, like perception, is often persona
Discussions around women’s safety often place India under a harsh spotlight, with international media portraying it as a country where women face constant risks in public spaces. This has led to sweeping generalisations that brand India as unsafe — especially for women travellers.
Challenging this narrative, a French woman recently shared that she feels safer in India than in her own country. Speaking from personal experience, she said she has not faced public harassment in India — unlike in France, where such encounters are more frequent.
“People in France think India is very unsafe,” she says. “But I don’t feel that way.”
Her remarks underline how lived realities can differ sharply from global perceptions. Comparing both countries, she said: “In France, someone may stop you on the street and ask for your bag or try to grab it. That kind of thing hasn’t happened to me in India.”
She noted that even walking alone at 3 am in India hasn’t caused her any concern — a sharp contrast to her experience in France. “As a woman, I have walked alone in India at 3 am and did not encounter any problems,” she said.
While she acknowledged India’s road safety issues due to traffic, she emphasized that she has felt safer from public harassment here than back home. “Public spaces in India feel more secure to me,” she added.
Her perspective has resonated online, sparking conversations about how entire nations are often judged based on narrow or extreme narratives. Many users have responded with similar experiences from different parts of India, questioning the accuracy of widely held assumptions.
She didn’t claim that either India or France is entirely safe or unsafe. Instead, her experience points to how individual stories can challenge conventional beliefs — and remind us that safety, like perception, is often persona