I was last in Paris in 2006. Back then, when I asked my French host if I should carry my passport with me while I was out sightseeing, they rolled their eyes and said: "Why on earth would you do that? It will just be a huge hassle if you loose it to a pickpocket."
I'm going to visit Paris again soon, and I've seen a few posts here that seem to indicate that Parisian police do occasionally stop people on the streets and ask for their ID, and that passports are the only acceptable form of ID for folks from outside the EU.
Should I just leave my passport in my hotel room safe, or should I keep it with me (in a suitably pickpocket resistant wallet)?
I've seen near-duplicates of this question for the UK, Schengen area, and Japan, but haven't seen Paris come up specifically.
Clarification:
To my mind this isn't as simple as "Carry it with you, better safe, than sorry!". Paris does have something of a problem with pickpockets (as do many large tourist heavy cities), and passports are a high value item. I'm looking for informed opinion of the relative risks of carrying my passport on my person, vs annoying security officers. My relative ranking of annoyance, from less annoying to highly annoying would be:
- Being scolded by a police officer for not having suitable ID on my person
- Having to return to my hotel to show my passport to a police officer
- Having my passport stolen or loosing it.
- Being fined for not having suitable ID on my person.
- Being detained for not having suitable ID on my person.
I'm really asking which is (roughly) more likely: (3) or (4)?