The so-called dangerous places of Paris are actually great spots to get baguettes

On a Fox News program, Nolan Peterson, an analyst and former Air Force combat veteran gave a controversial take.

He claimed that some Paris neighborhoods — mainly those populated by Muslims and other minorities — were as bad as war-torn Iraq and Afghanistan.

"I've been to Afghanistan, Iraq, and Kashmir," Peterson said. "At times, [Paris] felt like those places."

And he labeled them, "no-go zones," places so dangerous even police won't visit.

This summer, the Philadelphia Inquirer's Michael Matza went to see whether or not he could go to Paris' no-go zones. He'd lived in the French capital for years and didn't recall any neighborhoods that were off limits.

On his tour this summer, he didn't find any either.

"What I saw was some graffiti," he says. "But streets that seemed incredibly tame."

Matza has reported in some pretty hairy situations. He's no stranger to danger. But he does see a danger in labeling neighborhoods off-limits.

"Labeling a place a no-go zone is a pejorative," he says. "The idea that there are neighborhoods in Paris that are the equivalent of parts of Iraq and Afghanistan just seems over the top."

The French government uses the term "Zones Urbaines Sensibles" or sensitive urban zone to describe these areas. Matza says there are 750 such neighborhoods in France.

"These places are populated mostly by immigrants," he says. "There's socioeconomic pressure like unemployment and poverty. But instead of no-go, zones these are zones that are getting extra attention from the government to try and deal with some of the social and economic ills that they experience."

Matza hopes to return to several of the neighborhoods when he returns to Paris. There are great little French bistros in the area, some of the best baguettes, and a cosmopolitan feel.