New official statistics showing which large cities and medium-to-small towns in France have the best and worst burglary rates have been released by the Interior Ministry,
Aix-en-Provence, Marseille, and Bordeaux are among the cities with the highest burglary rates in France, while Angers, Amiens, and Brest are among the lowest.
The figures, which are correct as of 2024, come from le Service statistique ministériel de la sécurité intérieure (SSMSI), the official statistics officer for the Interior Ministry, which is currently headed by Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau.
The average number of home burglaries in France is 5.87 per 1,000 homes, a very similar figure to the 2023 number, which was 5.9 per 1,000 homes. This compares to 4.14 incidents of burglary per 1,000 people in 2024 in the UK (according to police figures).
Analysis by Le Figaro newspaper categorises the municipalities into major cities (more than 100,000 inhabitants, 42 in total); medium-sized cities (20,000 to 100,000 inhabitants; 440) and small towns (10,000 to 20,000 inhabitants; 550).
Burglary rates in large cities
Highest rates (mainland France)
Aix-en-Provence (Bouches-du-Rhône): 11.46 incidents per 1,000 properties
Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône): 9.68 incidents per 1,000 properties
Lille (Nord): 9.59 incidents per 1,000 properties
Grenoble (Gironde): 9.27 incidents per 1,000 properties
Bordeaux (Nouvelle-Aquitaine): 9.04 incidents per 1,000 properties
Lowest rates (mainland France)
Nancy (Meurthe-et-Moselle): 3.84 incidents per 1,000 properties
Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis): 3.84 incidents per 1,000 properties
Boulogne-Billancourt (Hauts-de-Seine): 3.83 incidents per 1,000 properties
Caen (Calvados): 3.81 incidents per 1,000 properties
Orléans (Loiret): 3.76 incidents per 1,000 properties
Burglary rates in medium cities/towns
Highest rates (mainland France)
Couëron (Loire-Atlantique): 16.43 incidents per 1,000 properties
Saint-Genis-Laval (Rhône): 15.53 incidents per 1,000 properties
Bègles (Gironde): 14.18 incidents per 1,000 properties
Sèvres (Hauts-de-Seine): 14.18 incidents per 1,000 properties
Morsang-sur-Orge (Essonne): 14.03 incidents per 1,000 properties
Lowest rates (mainland France)
Ajaccio (Corse-du-Sud): 0.89 incidents per 1,000 properties
Aurillac (Cantal): 1.15 incidents per 1,000 properties
Bastia (Haute-Corse): 1.34 incidents per 1,000 properties
Belfort (Territoire de Belfort): 1.52 incidents per 1,000 properties
Les Ulis (Essonne): 1.62 incidents per 1,000 properties
Burglary rates in small cities/towns
Highest rates (mainland France)
Vétraz-Monthoux (Haute-Savoie): 25.04 incidents per 1,000 properties
Saint-Avertin (Indre-et-Loire): 23.42 incidents per 1,000 properties
Le Taillan-Médoc (Gironde): 21.82 incidents per 1,000 properties
Cestas (Gironde): 21.69 incidents per 1,000 properties
Cesson-Sévigné (Ille-et-Vilaine): 19.45 incidents per 1,000 properties
Lowest rates (mainland France)
Borgo (Haute-Corse): 1.23 incidents per 1,000 properties
Etaples (Pas-de-Calais): 1.29 incidents per 1,000 properties
Vence (Alpes-Maritimes): 1.44 incidents per 1,000 properties
Oloron-Sainte-Marie (Pyrénées-Atlantiques): 1.48 incidents per 1,000 properties
Pontarlier (Doubs): 1.57 incidents per 1,000 properties.
Note: The smaller the town, the higher the rate per 1,000 properties for the most-affected areas, as there are fewer properties overall there. However, the absolute number of burglaries is lower.
1% of towns account for 41% of burglaries
Overall, the SSMSI concludes that many of the crimes were concentrated in a few major hotspots.
It says: “In 2024, as in previous years, crime committed at the municipal level and recorded by the national police and gendarmerie services remained concentrated in a limited number of municipalities.”
It says that of the crimes in the 14 major categories, “1% of the municipalities account for 41% of residential burglaries”.
Wider crime report
The burglary statistics are part of a wider report that also includes figures on fraud, sexual and domestic violence, drug trafficking and use, violent theft with or without a weapon, theft of vehicles or from cars, and acts of vandalism.
The full list of statistics, by city size and crime type, can be seen in an interactive table on the Le Figaro website here. The original report from the SSMSI is here.
How to help prevent a burglary at your property
Tell the police when you are going away
If you are going to leave your home or second-home empty for a period of up to three months, whether it be for holidays, travel or work, the Police nationale and Gendarmerie have a service called ‘Operation tranquilité vacances’ that can help keep it safe.
The service is free, and means that police and gendarmerie patrols will check your home from time to time when you are away.
You can apply for it here up to three days before the date you leave.
Edit Google Maps
The Gironde gendarmerie also suggested that technology was helping the burglars to identify targets in areas unfamiliar to them.
“Google Maps has made it so easy for burglars to get information about homes and look for signs of wealthy inhabitants," deputy commander César Lizurey of the Gironde gendarmerie told France 3.
Once burglars have identified their target, they can scope-out the homeowners on social media to see when they are going on holiday and for how long, which is one more reason not to post holiday plans or photos online.
You can prevent burglars from using Google Maps to visit your home by requesting for it to be blurred out.
To do this:
- Go to Google Maps.
- Enter your home address.
- Go to Street View by dragging the yellow person icon onto your street.
- Click on the three-dot menu by the address and select Report a problem.
- A new screen will pop up with an image of the address. Move around the image so the red box contains the area you wish to blur.
- Choose My Home from the Request Blurring list.
- Describe your home in the box provided. The colour and a simple description should suffice.
- Enter your email address.
- Click Submit.
The Gironde gendarmerie also advises people to "take all security precautions", such as "plugging in your alarms, shutting your gates and shutters, fitting automatic lights and not leaving things like ladders lying about outside".
It is also a good idea to watch out for criminal tricks. Popular ones include the criminals leaving a blank A4 sheet of paper tucked into your mailbox and checking if it has been removed later, or placing a very thin piece of thread across your house gates and checking if it has moved a few days later. These are ways that some criminals try to check if you are in or away.
