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Strip Searched at Strasbourg Airport Sophie and I recently moved back to the States from living in France for over 3 years. The last two years and three months were spent in Strasbourg. Sophie just returned Strasbourg to retrieve our dog, Jeffrey. At the Strasbourg Airport Sophie was strip searched and had her saliva tested for cocaine. Of course, she was completely clean. The Strasbourg Airport Security decided to strip search my 18-year-old on 'a hunch'. Take this as a warning. Your ever-so-loved and precious daughters that you worked their whole life to protect might very well be strip searched ON A HUNCH by security at Strasbourg Airport. Now you know. I wish I had known. I strongly suggest avoiding the Strasbourg International Airport at all costs, particularly if you have a teenage daughter or are a pretty woman. Apparently, the Strasbourg Airport believes that all pretty young women who fly alone must be drug mules. Don't risk it. Don't go there. From what I've experience in Strasbourg, this behavior is simply par for the course. It has been my experience that Strasbourg is unsafe on many levels for girls and woman. I held my tongue while we lived in Strasbourg as to the absolutely heinous, deplorable and irreproachable attitudes, behaviors and actions we have received from the locals while living there with very few exceptions. The anti-Americanism and downright hatred for others the French willingly and pompously subject foreigners to is completely undeserving and prolific. If you are a parent of a teenage girl I would so strongly avoid France altogether and Strasbourg very specifically. There was no cause or reason for Sophie to be strip searched. It's just the French way... Strip searching young ladies on 'a hunch'? It is not a safe place to raise an American girl particularly if you are a strong American women who speaks limited French. I have run into similarly offensive and inappropriate actions by Strasbourg Officials on all levels and in all types of businesses and encounters. People write to me and ask if I would recommend living in France. The answer is a very, very strong 'NO!' I wouldn't even suggest visiting Strasbourg under any circumstances. Let's put it this way, the city didn't even let women inside the city limits for HUNDREDS of years and their sexism has yet to leave the city limits. The church or city officials were so daft they couldn't even put the second steeple on a church that took hundreds of years to build. Excuse me... you can't even finish a church. People notice things like steeples. Who's lame idea was it not to add the second steeple? Ahhh... yeah, well from what I've experience the politics of the city have not improved since the decision not to finish the cathedral took place. The city government in Strasbourg is a joke and completely corrupt. It is no wonder the Parliament is considering packing their bags and operating solely out of Brussels. They should! As far as being a tourist. Yuk! The hotels only hike the prices. Why? Because you don't matter. Parliament comes and pays the bills. Many of our guests quickly discovered that the locals will treat you hostilely and with disdain. The violations our family has endured are beyond belief. Strasbourg is the most hideous place I've ever experienced without exception. The low-level mentality is beyond reproach. The pompous arrogance is unbelievable and downright boring. It's like their proud of being elitist. But what in the world have they got to be proud of? The ones I met didn't do much besides ruffle their feathers. Actual actions seem way beyond the abilities or desire of the French. By the way, if you think France likes art. Strasbourg teachers and administrators are the first to inform you that France 'does not believe in art'. Yep, you heard right. And boy were they ever vicious when I refused to make Sophie take out the dreads that were not against school or government rules. Vicious, malicious, scary and horrendously dreadful are took kind descriptions for the hell we went through as a result of perhaps being American and definitely not complying with their unreasonable demands of illegal conformation. There. I've finally spoken my mind. If you have a teenage girl no matter how wholesome and sweet, do not allow her to travel through the Strasbourg Airport because the risk is far too high that she will be strip searched and treated like a drug trafficking mule. Your daughters deserve better. It is for the sake of your daughter that I am compelled to break my silence about our treatment in Strasbourg. If you are planning on having your daughter study abroad, I strongly recommend choosing a different country and most certainly do not choose Strasbourg. It is simply not a safe place. I have personally been subjected to more personal harm and problems than I ever had anywhere I've ever lived or traveled. If you think the Marche de Noel looks nice. It's okay. It's actually only okay on Tuesday mornings. Otherwise it's crowded and everyone is pushy and unkind. It's a drag. I strongly suggest the incredibly lovely and festival March de Noel in Brugges, Belgium. We've always had a wonderful time there and found the people and vendors to be friendly and pleasant. For study abroad programs, I met a couple girls a few months back during my London travels who were studying in Montpellier. They were saying how awful the French were and wondering if it would get better after time and once their French improved. I used to wonder that myself. The answer in my three years of living there is 'No.' The French pride themselves on being snobs. But what have they got to be snobby about? Stuff that was made years ago that they now house in museums? The Cannes Film Festival which is a joke and so rigged that it makes a mockery out of anything resembling independent. Their health care system isn't free, just for the record and if they want to whimsically deny it to you, they will! At least, that was my personal experience. The education is beyond horrendous on every level. The administrator actually told me they don't care if the children smoke, drink, do drugs and have sex - that that is normal for children. The dreads, on the other hand, were a huge issue. Hmmm... dreads aren't even permanent. They can be taken out. Fear of independence? Fear of personal expression and choice? You will inevitably make your own decisions. I hope this information will help in when you make decisions. I've only barely mentioned the problems we experience in Strasbourg. I should probably mention that there are teenage girls who have gone missing from there. There was one who went missing shortly after we arrived and another who went missing shortly before we left. I saw notices for them. There may have been more girls between these two victims. But the incidents show that there is clearly a perpetrator in the area of Strasbourg who is killing teenage girls. About a year ago, I was attacked while taking a walk just a couple blocks from my home near the cathedral. When I reported it to the police they said it had been happened at the end of each month for at least six months. The exact pattern was one day before the last each month. This perpetrator would attack several women each night he prowled the streets. I never read anything about it in the news. No women were ever warned. The police said they had no leads. Initially, Strasbourg feels safe. I've never experienced a lack of safety in so many ways as I have in Strasbourg. Do yourself and your teenage daughter a favor and consider different options for studying abroad. Strasbourg is simply not what it appears to be at first glance. 
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