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French travel warnings for Boston only point out the obvious

BEFORE THE Globe gets its culottes in too much of a twist over the French government's warning to its citizens to avoid traveling by foot in some Boston neighborhoods at night ("Excellent pommes frites in Dorchester," Editorial, Nov. 22), take a look at the Globe's own homicide maps starting in 2013 and working back year after disgraceful year. Then factor in Boston's excellent emergency services, which reduce many potential homicides to "assault with a deadly weapon" or "attempted murder" — violence that is not recorded on these grim maps. Or forget the French altogether and concentrate on the lives of the young people who attend schools like the Jeremiah Burke, where students, teachers, and staff face the daily struggle to achieve in a virtual war zone.

Alex Pirie
Somerville