You're being unreasonable in your expectations for protection, and you're being tasteless in somehow trying to associate what happened to you to the terrorist attacks in Paris.
Your question isn't a bad or stupid one. But it's ultimately missing the point. Sure, it's good to look up the "local flavors" of street scams when you go to a new city, but they all basically work on the same principles. So while this doesn't actually answer your question (travel sites like Lonely Planet are good for that sort of information), it does tell you how to avoid being taken for such scams.
Police resources are scarce everywhere, particularly in major world cities and capitals such as Paris. Focusing on minor crimes distracts police from focusing on major ones. I'm not going to comment on Paris's police force, since I don't actually know anything about it -- and neither, I'm willing to bet, are you -- but I do know that scams like this are common in every large city in the world, no matter how well-policed.
Low-level criminals pick their targets. (Actually, almost all criminals pick their targets.) Not knowing you, I can't say what it was that screamed "I'm going to make it easy for you, shut up and take my money!" to the guy, but make no mistake: he knew, with 99% certainty, he was going to be successful before you noticed him. He had, as security experts call it, "interviewed" you in the seconds or minute before you noticed him approaching
(Those string guys didn't even bother approaching me or my wife, and it's not because we look like badasses: it's because we don't look like people who will make it easy on them. These types of criminals don't want to target you, they want to target anyone easy.) They want people who look like they aren't (and probably aren't):
Your question isn't a bad or stupid one. But it's ultimately missing the point. Sure, it's good to look up the "local flavors" of street scams when you go to a new city, but they all basically work on the same principles. So while this doesn't actually answer your question (travel sites like Lonely Planet are good for that sort of information), it does tell you how to avoid being taken for such scams.
Police resources are scarce everywhere, particularly in major world cities and capitals such as Paris. Focusing on minor crimes distracts police from focusing on major ones. I'm not going to comment on Paris's police force, since I don't actually know anything about it -- and neither, I'm willing to bet, are you -- but I do know that scams like this are common in every large city in the world, no matter how well-policed.
Low-level criminals pick their targets. (Actually, almost all criminals pick their targets.) Not knowing you, I can't say what it was that screamed "I'm going to make it easy for you, shut up and take my money!" to the guy, but make no mistake: he knew, with 99% certainty, he was going to be successful before you noticed him. He had, as security experts call it, "interviewed" you in the seconds or minute before you noticed him approaching
(Those string guys didn't even bother approaching me or my wife, and it's not because we look like badasses: it's because we don't look like people who will make it easy on them. These types of criminals don't want to target you, they want to target anyone easy.) They want people who look like they aren't (and probably aren't):
- Paying attention to their surroundings (like whether someone is approaching them from behind or the side
- Paying attention to details (like what the stranger talking to you is wearing and looks like)
- Are unwilling to be firm and/or assertive (which, by the way, doesn't necessarily mean "rude" or "loud")
- Are willing to let them get close (how close? Close enough to grab you and tie a damn string around your finger, for instance)
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