Before entering the northern, the Serbian part, of Mitrovica, my Serbian translator and her husband took off the Kovoso license plates from their car. In order to be safe. In order not to be wrongly accused of being Albanian.
Needless to say that the southern part of Mitrovica, the Albanian side, is not very safe for Serbians.
But for the French soldiers patrolling the streets of Mitrovica this city is much safer than Afghanistan.
So there you have a reason for optimism.