Gareth

Thanks for your response Rdkr, I agree with your statement, but I'm refering to mindless tags and graffti which started in New York and means absoluelty nothing! How is the "2BadCrew" , "F###" , "Da Lyon Bomin' Crew" refer to a potlictical slogan? It's just bored kids influenced by clap-trap Amercian media eg. MTV Base etc. and think they are playing out a role in a hiphop gang. It's pure vandlism and is rapidly devalueing France. I think you mean along the lines of "Libre Bretagne!" or "Breizh" meaning the liberation of Brittany etc.

Hi, I used to live just outside Saint Malo around 10 years ago for over 6 years. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there. I considered France to be rich in culture, art and much more advanced than many other European countries including the U.K. I had to return to the U.K in 97 and have been there ever since. Over the last year I have had the urge to return to France because of less family ties etc. I cannot believe that some people in this post haven't noticed the graffiti. It is a national disaster!! I am in my mid 30s and am far from being narrow-minded but I really think the graffiti is out of control in France. For all those people who haven’t noticed it take any autoroute to the south of France, or maybe round the peripherique of Paris (it's both sides of the autoroute for miles and miles, large pieces on every piece of concrete). Or take any SNCF train ride I can guarantee my last Euro it will shock you! Cannes blew my mind, the sheer scale of it. As mentioned, even on peoples front gates and houses. Whole intermarches covered in hip hop style graffiti and tags, with windows smashed. I must say the local councils and motorway maintaince are trying to combat it. Every bridge from Caen (Normandy) to Cannes in the south has grey paint covering the graffiti up. I decided to rent a holiday house just outside Nimes in the south to have a venture around and see if I like the area, possibly to settle. My first impressions were to return to the U.K because of the graffiti problem they have got here. I'm even paranoid about parking my new white sprinter van just in case it gets tagged!! I agree if you're living in Brittany and never really move outside your village then fair enough you probably won't see much of it. Compared to the U.K, France has a much more serious problem. In London I know it's pretty bad especially south London, but I travel a lot in Britain around Birmingham and the North and have hardly seen one piece. Never normally under a bridge! What's happened to France? I’m really having second thoughts about moving back here!