Virtuosa violinist mugged TWICE in one day on the streets of Paris
Virtuosa violinist Julie Berthollet has declared she plans to leave Paris after she endured a pair of muggings just minutes apart last month.
Berthollet, 25, rose to stardom upon forming a strings duo with younger sister Camille and the pair chose to settle in the French capital which has long been lauded for its bustling music and art scene.
But the musician said she is now moving back to her native Switzerland after seeing the ‘every man for himself’ attitude on display on the Parisian streets.
Julie was set upon twice by men trying first to steal her phone, then her jewellery, but was most perturbed by the total lack of interest or concern displayed by members of the public who witnessed the attacks.
Julie told Swiss publication L’Illustré she was walking along the banks of the Seine on June 22 when a man tried to grab her iPhone out of her hand.
She managed to cling on and scream at her would-be mugger, who ultimately fled.
‘I have strong hands because of my violin playing, I resisted. I held tight to my iPhone and I shouted: ”Are you mad? Coward!” The individual left,’ Julie said.
But she was then accosted minutes later by another individual at the entrance to a metro station.
The second attacker ripped off her bracelets and necklaces before brandishing a knife to discourage her from fighting back – all while passers-by went about their day seemingly without batting an eye.
‘It’s every man for himself [in Paris],’ Julie said.
‘I absolutely don’t have the ability to put up with all this ambient violence. In Paris when you say ‘Hello’ to someone they take it as an aggression.
‘It’s not like that in Switzerland. Here people are polite. They don’t ignore each other.’
Julie said people walked around her as she lay on the ground after being mugged with ‘total indifference’ and never came close to trying to intervene.
She caught a train to Geneva in her native Switzerland and spent the journey in tears, both in shock from the attack and the way in which bystanders completely ignored her plight.
Paris is known as the city of love and the fashion capital of the world, not to mention its reputation for world-renowned cuisine and burgeoning art scene.
But many believe the city has deteriorated rapidly in recent years, with much of the criticism for the Parisian decline being directed at mayor Anne Hidalgo.
