Charlie Hebdou Attack Compels Paris to Restrict Street Filming of Action Movies

Interior of Paris' Gare du Nord,
near which Jason Bourne in The Bourne Identity
began his Parisian car escape.
(Image: Wikipedia)

New York residents are accustomed to seeing its neighborhoods turned into backdrops for film and television productions. However, the Big Apple is not the only city so blessed by studio and directorial preference. Paris' charming rues, boulevards, and avenues, along with its iconic structures, also appear with increasing frequency in feature-length feature films and television series.

Alas, one consequence of the Charlie Hebdou and Paris kosher supermarket massacres is increased sensitivity toward violence in the City of Light. As a result, according to a BBC report, Parisian authorities have significantly restricted movie and television productions' shooting (no pun intended) of action sequences in the city itself. The BBC story noted that one municipal concern was the possible confusion between actors and dangerous, armed impostors. Ironically, the blurred line between simulated violence and the real thing has become too grave a risk for the French capital to tolerate on its streets.