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Travel warnings amid French violence
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LONDON, England (CNN) -- Riots that exploded from the suburbs of Paris and spread across France have prompted a flurry of warnings over the safety of travel to one of Europe's busiest business destinations.
As violence raged in 226 French towns, prompting the government to allow curfews, several foreign countries have issued statements urging caution when visiting the troubled nation.
After 12 consecutive nights of unrest, the U.S. Department of State on Monday issued a "public announcement" alerting its citizens to the situation.
It said Americans should "avoid areas where riots have occurred, move quickly away from any demonstrations they may encounter and exercise particular caution during evening and nighttime hours."
Although most of the rioting has broken out at night, mostly in poor neighborhoods -- resulting in one death -- the British Foreign Office warned it could "occur almost anywhere."
The State Department did not advise Americans against traveling to France, instead alerting them to "ongoing security concerns."
It said travelers using Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris -- Europe's third busiest air hub -- "should be aware that train service between the airport and Paris runs through an affected area and has occasionally been disrupted.
"Travelers should rely instead on airport buses or taxis to downtown Paris."
Other countries urging their citizens to avoid the riot-hit areas include Austria, the Netherlands, Germany, Japan, Denmark, Slovakia, Taiwan, Hungary, Russia and the Czech Republic.
"If you need to visit or transit any of the affected areas you are advised to be extremely vigilant and to avoid any demonstrations which may be taking place in and around the area," the British Foreign Office warning said.
"You should also be aware that in the present circumstances disturbances could occur almost anywhere."
'Disturbances could occur anywhere'
In Paris, the violence has mainly affected the city's northeastern Seine-Saint-Denis area but disturbances have also occurred in Val d'Oise, Yvelines, Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-et-Marne, Val-de-Marne, Essone, Evreux and Aulnay-sous-Bois.
In one incident, two policemen were shot at and injured in the town of Grigny, south of Paris.
The disturbances are likely to undermine France's reputation as a safe destination for foreign travelers at a time when the world's fifth-largest industrialized nation is reaching out to foreign investors.
Business travel firms said they were planning to advise their customers to be aware of the situation, but said there was so far no visible decline in the number of visitors bound for France.
"We have seen no difference to our business, we have the same number of people traveling on flights and the Eurostar trains," Tim Ricketts of British-based CT Business Travel told CNN.
"We are planning to put down a specific instruction to our booking team to inform our customers of the situation, but as of this week there has been no change to the situation."
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