The newspaper enumerates recent incidents in various parts of France, recalling the attack by a group of teenagers, who espoused extremist Islamist beliefs, in central Paris at the beginning of March, the stabbing of three people by a man from Mali in Lyon and a shooting in Valence in the south-east of the country.
According to the published data, 39% of those surveyed said they had been harassed or attacked in public places and 23% had been the victim of a burglary. As many as 65% of public transport passengers fear for their safety and 61% of residents of major cities do not feel safe on the streets.
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France is a breeding ground for violence that nothing can stop,” Le Figaro commented. “The French are showing distrust in the government and its ability to provide an effective remedy to the ills plaguing the country,” the daily added.
According to the survey, as many as
72% of French citizens do not believe that the authorities are able to provide them with security in the face of crime, such as burglaries and assaults. In addition, 62% of those surveyed say that the government is unable to defend the public against terrorist attacks.
Easter security
France’s Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin stated on Sunday that 13,500 police and anti-terror soldiers had been deployed outside 4,530 churches to protect them against any “terrorism” as they celebrate Easter.
“Law enforcement forces are present everywhere nationwide from Good Friday to Easter Monday to protect services in an extremely difficult context in which terrorism could hit,” he said.
At the end of March,
the French government raised the terrorist threat level to the highest level. The decision was taken four months before the Olympic Games in Paris, which are set to begin on 26 July.
According to the survey, more and more French people are setting up burglar protection, including alarms or video cameras.
For personal defense, up to 21% of the population carry tear gas and 12% have taken self-defense courses.
“Strictly regulated by law, the use of violence is too restrictive for some and prevents the police from effectively fulfilling their mission,” write the study’s analysts, quoted by Le Figaro.
France’s high crime rate goes hand in hand with the problem of overcrowded prisons. As AFP reported last week,
the number of prisoners in French penitentiaries has reached the highest level in the country’s history. Nearly 77,000 people are serving sentences and prisons are more than 124% full.
High profile crimes
In June last year a Syrian national wounded four children and an adult in a knife attack in the French alpine town of Annecy.
In December 2022 a gunman killed three people at a Kurdish cultural center and nearby Kurdish cafe in central Paris, prompting violent street protests.
In October 2022 12-year-old Lola Daviet was found dead in a travel trunk in Paris. An Algerian female, who was under orders to leave France, is still awaiting trial, accused of murder, rape and torture.
