Burglaries soar in Paris but fall across France
Burglaries in the French capital have soared in 2018 and the weather is partly to blame, police say, while break-ins in other parts of the country fell, new figures show.
Paris has seen a rise of 18 percent in the number of home break-ins in the first half of 2018, new figures from the country's interior ministry reveal.
Throughout the first half of 2018 there were 5,701 burglaries in the capital, according to the data published by Le Figaro newspaper.
And the rise could be even more marked in the second half of the year given that burglaries tend to shoot up during the summer months.
Paris police chief Nicolas Duquesnel said burglaries tend to rise in summer as Parisians head away on holiday and leave their homes unoccupied.
The police chief also said this year's persistent hot weather during June, July and August gave burglars a boost.
"The heatwave factor plays a part because people leave windows open so it's easier to get into homes, even when people are present, especially at night," Duquesnel told BFM TV.
Outside Paris the rate of burglaries across France actually fell by 5.67 percent in the first half of 2018.
The departments which saw the biggest drop included Nord in the far north of France, which saw burglaries plunge by 16.33 percent.
The central department of Rhône saw a drop of 5.9 percent.
READ ALSO: How to avoid being burgled in France (and what to do if you are)
However in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône, which was ranked fourth in the table of the departments in France most targeted by burglars in 2017, there was actually a rise of 5.27 percent in the rate of break-ins.
Figures given to The Local earlier this year revealed that in 2017 Paris saw a total of 10,465 burglaries among its 1.46 million dwellings which gave it a rate of 8 burglaries per 1,000 homes.
But despite the large number of break-ins the capital didn't have the highest rate for break-ins across France.
That unfortunate title went to the south west department of Haute-Garonne where there were 13 break-ins per 1,000 homes.
In second place was the greater Paris department of Seine-Saint-Denis followed by Isère in the south east.
Beautiful sea-swept Manche, in Normandy, where the picturesque Mont Saint-Michel lies, is the department where you least need to worry about burglars. In 2017, only 570 homes were broken into out of a total of 291,252.
Then come the little-known department of Cantal in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (south central France) and Lozère in Occitanie, the second and third safest spots in France when it comes to home security.
The department of Dordogne was one of the safest in France but actually saw a huge jump in burglaries in 2017 for a number of different reasons.
For the full run down on the most and least burgled departments in France click on the link below.
READ ALSO: Where in France are you most and least likely to be burgled?
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Paris has seen a rise of 18 percent in the number of home break-ins in the first half of 2018, new figures from the country's interior ministry reveal.
Throughout the first half of 2018 there were 5,701 burglaries in the capital, according to the data published by Le Figaro newspaper.
And the rise could be even more marked in the second half of the year given that burglaries tend to shoot up during the summer months.
Paris police chief Nicolas Duquesnel said burglaries tend to rise in summer as Parisians head away on holiday and leave their homes unoccupied.
The police chief also said this year's persistent hot weather during June, July and August gave burglars a boost.
"The heatwave factor plays a part because people leave windows open so it's easier to get into homes, even when people are present, especially at night," Duquesnel told BFM TV.
Outside Paris the rate of burglaries across France actually fell by 5.67 percent in the first half of 2018.
The departments which saw the biggest drop included Nord in the far north of France, which saw burglaries plunge by 16.33 percent.
The central department of Rhône saw a drop of 5.9 percent.
READ ALSO: How to avoid being burgled in France (and what to do if you are)
However in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône, which was ranked fourth in the table of the departments in France most targeted by burglars in 2017, there was actually a rise of 5.27 percent in the rate of break-ins.
Figures given to The Local earlier this year revealed that in 2017 Paris saw a total of 10,465 burglaries among its 1.46 million dwellings which gave it a rate of 8 burglaries per 1,000 homes.
But despite the large number of break-ins the capital didn't have the highest rate for break-ins across France.
That unfortunate title went to the south west department of Haute-Garonne where there were 13 break-ins per 1,000 homes.
In second place was the greater Paris department of Seine-Saint-Denis followed by Isère in the south east.
Beautiful sea-swept Manche, in Normandy, where the picturesque Mont Saint-Michel lies, is the department where you least need to worry about burglars. In 2017, only 570 homes were broken into out of a total of 291,252.
Then come the little-known department of Cantal in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (south central France) and Lozère in Occitanie, the second and third safest spots in France when it comes to home security.
The department of Dordogne was one of the safest in France but actually saw a huge jump in burglaries in 2017 for a number of different reasons.
For the full run down on the most and least burgled departments in France click on the link below.
READ ALSO: Where in France are you most and least likely to be burgled?
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