Violent and unscrupulous attacks on tourists – that doesn’t really fit the French capital. The increased police operations in some hotspots have apparently had an effect.
Paris – The increased use of the Paris police to protect tourists from theft and fraud this summer should not have been without success. The patrols deployed in tourist areas such as the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre and at train stations have reduced crime, the police prefecture said on Monday. Between June 20 and September 4, 2,334 violent robberies were registered, twelve percent fewer than in the same period last year. At 5,501, the number of reported pickpocketing was only three percent below the previous year’s figure. 41 shell players and 742 street vendors were arrested by the police.
One focus of the police operations was in the area of the Eiffel Tower, for example on the adjacent Champ de Mars green space and on Trocadéro Square, where there are many foreign tourists.
Violent and unscrupulous attacks on tourists had increased this summer, particularly on the Trocadéro site. Sometimes thieves beat visitors to get their loot. With 20 additional officers a day, the police showed a presence there.
The Paris police were also successful in dealing with a particular criminal phenomenon, the theft of luxury watches. The number of thefts of watches valued at 5,000 euros or more fell by 44 percent, the prefecture said. With special investigators, the Paris police have been dedicated to the organized robbery of luxury watches for a while, and the victims are not just tourists. In the chic districts and in front of expensive hotels, the perpetrators lie in wait for their victims in order to rip their watches off their wrists. dpa
