PARIS — Nothing really prepares you for it..You're on the Paris Metro, packed like sardines, when some little twerp next to you bumps up against you and removes your cellphone from your right cargo pants pocket.I did not feel the theft — the guy was a pro — but I instantly grabbed hold of him and demanded my phone back.With hundreds of people around us at the Chatelet station, I demanded to see his pockets — nothing. Damn!I know these guys work in teams and they are infamous in Paris. The phone was handed to a confederate who disappeared into the crowd.And so, there was nothing I could do. I had to continue on without my iPhone, which had all my contacts, pictures of my daughter Rica and more.It was devastating.But, stiff upper lip, as they say. I arrived about a half hour later at my destination, the 2022 Eurosatory military show at Parc des Expositions — a massive convention complex near Charles de Gaulle airport.What exactly is Eurosatory?Well, in short, it features 1,700-1,800 booths featuring every type of military technology, and related technology — state-of-the-art stuff.Why France? I have no idea. I have been to AUSA in Washington, D.C., but I have never seen anything this big. Think eight Walmarts in size. Absolutely overwhelming, even for a veteran journalist like myself.Anyway, I made a beeline for the Eurosatory concierge, who helped me immensely. The fellow there even let me use his cellphone to call my ex-wife in Calgary to cancel my Fido account.At least they wouldn't be making phone calls at my expense.They even offered to buy me a new phone, if I needed it — at my cost, of course, but they said they could do it. I was impressed.So, sans iPhone, I headed into the show. And my God, what a show it was.I had never seen such an array of military hardware and related technologies in my entire life. And believe me, I've been to the barbecue before, as they say!For a military journalist, it was the biggest and best candy store imaginable.And keep in mind, some of the bigger military outfits at the show were paying exorbitant funds — in the hundreds of thousands of dollars — just to be there.But, if ever there was a time to be at Eurosatory, it's now.There's a rather mean fellow in Russia, who has put the fear of God into everyone, especially Europe, and the theme of this year's show was obvious.As one show-goer told me — in fact, the PR man at Elbit systems, an aerospace and defence company in Israel — "Europe has woken up."They sure have — Ukraine has changed everything.For the first time in history, Germany has dramatically boosted its military spending. Other nations have followed suit, expanding their defence budgets.You would think that's a good thing, right? If you were an arms dealer?To a point, yes. In the straw poll I took of at least two dozen arms dealers — everyone from ammo makers to major drone firms to armoured vehicle manufacturers, you name it ... they all said the same thing.Demand is up. But ...I spoke to a rather smart gentleman at Nigeria's Pro Force, and he told me the downside was way, way worse.For starters he said, "Inflation." The cost of everything skyrocketed.Secondly, the price of fuel also soared. And, in tandem, shipping container rates also increased dramatically.Thirdly, international trade has been disrupted — it's harder, and more expensive to get the parts they need.And then there's another problem: The war in Ukraine has shut down grain shipments to Africa, which gets something like 60% of its grain from the latter.Bang, bang, bang, bang. Hit hard on every front, and not necessarily good for business.And what about the battlefield? Well, that too has changed. The PR fellow at Elbit told me everyone and their dog is watching what is going on in Ukraine.And the consensus is it's all about going back to the basics of military strategy."Do we need tanks?" he said. "And if we do, how do we now protect them."Drones are taking a terrible toll on Russian tanks, and that is a fact that is not being ignored by the world's military services.To say it has affected Eurosatory 2022 is an understatement. The deals being made at this show have probably rivaled any previous show on record.And while military arms is a serious business, there was one side story that was quite humorous.I saw a robot dog at the show — it walked right by me and then stopped, as people gathered around it.What was funny was that everyone who came into contact with this creature, if I can call it that, wanted to pat it on the head!Keep in mind this is a robot. But yet, human nature remained — everybody wanted to pat it and it usually brought smiles to everyone involved.So, getting back to my iPhone theft.When I got back to my hotel and checked my email, my ex-wife had left me a message, stating, "a man in Paris has your phone."I was stunned. Not only that, but I can get it back if I go to a Japanese restaurant in District 10 and meet a man there.Fearing something nefarious, I told the hotel concierge (who was worried), that if I wasn't back in two hours to call the cops.Normally, when I travel I bring with me a US Navy Korean war era commando knife, which would scare off anyone — but I only brought a carry-on to Paris and that was definitely a no-go.So, off I go in a cab to District 10.After a lengthy ride, we arrive at a small Japanese restaurant, in kind of a rough area of Paris, I would say.I walk in and there is a friendly couple there waiting for me. The gentleman told me he found my phone on the ground at Gare du Nord station. It was on the ground, dusty and dirty, and being stepped on.The case and the cards in it (nothing important), were missing.But, the fact is these folks could not have been nicer.They even refused the 50 Euro reward I wanted to hand them. They said, you're a visitor to Paris, and, you should be treated with respect.Just talking about it now chokes me up. All this, in one day!It just goes to show, there are more good people than bad, and just about anything and everything can happen in the City of Light.
PARIS — Nothing really prepares you for it..You're on the Paris Metro, packed like sardines, when some little twerp next to you bumps up against you and removes your cellphone from your right cargo pants pocket.I did not feel the theft — the guy was a pro — but I instantly grabbed hold of him and demanded my phone back.With hundreds of people around us at the Chatelet station, I demanded to see his pockets — nothing. Damn!I know these guys work in teams and they are infamous in Paris. The phone was handed to a confederate who disappeared into the crowd.And so, there was nothing I could do. I had to continue on without my iPhone, which had all my contacts, pictures of my daughter Rica and more.It was devastating.But, stiff upper lip, as they say. I arrived about a half hour later at my destination, the 2022 Eurosatory military show at Parc des Expositions — a massive convention complex near Charles de Gaulle airport.What exactly is Eurosatory?Well, in short, it features 1,700-1,800 booths featuring every type of military technology, and related technology — state-of-the-art stuff.Why France? I have no idea. I have been to AUSA in Washington, D.C., but I have never seen anything this big. Think eight Walmarts in size. Absolutely overwhelming, even for a veteran journalist like myself.Anyway, I made a beeline for the Eurosatory concierge, who helped me immensely. The fellow there even let me use his cellphone to call my ex-wife in Calgary to cancel my Fido account.At least they wouldn't be making phone calls at my expense.They even offered to buy me a new phone, if I needed it — at my cost, of course, but they said they could do it. I was impressed.So, sans iPhone, I headed into the show. And my God, what a show it was.I had never seen such an array of military hardware and related technologies in my entire life. And believe me, I've been to the barbecue before, as they say!For a military journalist, it was the biggest and best candy store imaginable.And keep in mind, some of the bigger military outfits at the show were paying exorbitant funds — in the hundreds of thousands of dollars — just to be there.But, if ever there was a time to be at Eurosatory, it's now.There's a rather mean fellow in Russia, who has put the fear of God into everyone, especially Europe, and the theme of this year's show was obvious.As one show-goer told me — in fact, the PR man at Elbit systems, an aerospace and defence company in Israel — "Europe has woken up."They sure have — Ukraine has changed everything.For the first time in history, Germany has dramatically boosted its military spending. Other nations have followed suit, expanding their defence budgets.You would think that's a good thing, right? If you were an arms dealer?To a point, yes. In the straw poll I took of at least two dozen arms dealers — everyone from ammo makers to major drone firms to armoured vehicle manufacturers, you name it ... they all said the same thing.Demand is up. But ...I spoke to a rather smart gentleman at Nigeria's Pro Force, and he told me the downside was way, way worse.For starters he said, "Inflation." The cost of everything skyrocketed.Secondly, the price of fuel also soared. And, in tandem, shipping container rates also increased dramatically.Thirdly, international trade has been disrupted — it's harder, and more expensive to get the parts they need.And then there's another problem: The war in Ukraine has shut down grain shipments to Africa, which gets something like 60% of its grain from the latter.Bang, bang, bang, bang. Hit hard on every front, and not necessarily good for business.And what about the battlefield? Well, that too has changed. The PR fellow at Elbit told me everyone and their dog is watching what is going on in Ukraine.And the consensus is it's all about going back to the basics of military strategy."Do we need tanks?" he said. "And if we do, how do we now protect them."Drones are taking a terrible toll on Russian tanks, and that is a fact that is not being ignored by the world's military services.To say it has affected Eurosatory 2022 is an understatement. The deals being made at this show have probably rivaled any previous show on record.And while military arms is a serious business, there was one side story that was quite humorous.I saw a robot dog at the show — it walked right by me and then stopped, as people gathered around it.What was funny was that everyone who came into contact with this creature, if I can call it that, wanted to pat it on the head!Keep in mind this is a robot. But yet, human nature remained — everybody wanted to pat it and it usually brought smiles to everyone involved.So, getting back to my iPhone theft.When I got back to my hotel and checked my email, my ex-wife had left me a message, stating, "a man in Paris has your phone."I was stunned. Not only that, but I can get it back if I go to a Japanese restaurant in District 10 and meet a man there.Fearing something nefarious, I told the hotel concierge (who was worried), that if I wasn't back in two hours to call the cops.Normally, when I travel I bring with me a US Navy Korean war era commando knife, which would scare off anyone — but I only brought a carry-on to Paris and that was definitely a no-go.So, off I go in a cab to District 10.After a lengthy ride, we arrive at a small Japanese restaurant, in kind of a rough area of Paris, I would say.I walk in and there is a friendly couple there waiting for me. The gentleman told me he found my phone on the ground at Gare du Nord station. It was on the ground, dusty and dirty, and being stepped on.The case and the cards in it (nothing important), were missing.But, the fact is these folks could not have been nicer.They even refused the 50 Euro reward I wanted to hand them. They said, you're a visitor to Paris, and, you should be treated with respect.Just talking about it now chokes me up. All this, in one day!It just goes to show, there are more good people than bad, and just about anything and everything can happen in the City of Light.
