I’ve visited France 5 times in my life. The most recent was 3 years ago.
As you stated, apartments (or le lofts’) start at $2000, and those are NOT in the “no go zones”. Just asked around the Champs within 5 mile radius out of curiosity. The bellboy PLEADED not to hang around the DSLR camera around the neck or it WILL be stolen. I guess he helped us because of the large tip we gave him.
The more I hear about modern day Europe, the less I want go. I’ve been at about 0 in terms of interest for decades.