Being hustled in Grenoble

Being hustled in Grenoble

Contrary to the belief held amongst people who have never heard of the place, Grenoble is not a village.  I was told by an expat that an elderly relative had asked her why she had moved to such a dangerous place. They thought she lived in Chernobyl. An unfortunate similarity, phonetically!

Grenoble is a modern city hosting IT companies and has a university. Therefore it has all the pitfalls one expects from a large town. Recently I was walking down the road bordering a park. A man came towards me, smiling. Just before he reached me he picked something up from the ground and held it out to me, “Look it’s a ring. It must be gold, what do you think?” At first I thought I would use the opportunity to practice my French and answered “I’m not sure.” He then pointed to a hallmark which showed 18 carat. I was suspicious and held on to my handbag tightly wondering what the scam was. I knew that he was hustling me but I didn’t know how to extricate myself from the situation in my not-so fluent French. He continued to tell me that he was in Grenoble without papers so he could not sell it. He would like to give the ring to me. As I politely refused his offer, he kept insisting. Eventually he thrust the ring into my palm. All the while he was being a genial stranger. I was keen to get away but the pavement on our side of the road was completely empty and I was afraid of him following me. He then asked for some money to buy a kebab. Glad to hear what he was really after, I gave the man back his ring and a few euros. I then walked briskly back to my apartment. 

The moral of the story is a) if you’re a foreigner just say Je ne comprende pas, I don’t understand or b) dress casually. I was wearing a black and white pin-striped jacket, a brightly colured scarf and a red handbag. I love the joie de vivre exuded by these accessories. My sensible husband always advises me not to wear loud colours for fear of standing out in a crowd.  A girl likes to stand out in what she wears but perhaps in a crowded city it just makes you a target.

As autumn approaches I am going to tone down the colours and carry a practical beige handbag, an anorak and a large umbrella to protect myself from rain or persistent strangers.