Burglary hotspots in France revealed

AGDE, on the Hérault coast, is the burglary capital of France, while Bouches-du-Rhône tops the most-burgled department list, according to the government body responsible for crime statistics.

L'Observatoire National de la Délinquance et des Réponses Pénales said that 373,000 burglaries were reported nationally last year, a 20% increase on the 2008 figure, with criminals targeting main homes (50% of reported crimes) ahead of businesses (44%) and second homes (6%).

According to the statistics, 18.6 out of 1,000 residents in Agde - which sits at the Mediterranean end of the Canal du Midi - were burgled last year, compared to a national average of 6.4 burglaries per 1,000 inhabitants.

The figures also suggest that towns and cities in more picturesque areas of southeast France are targeted more often.

The burglary rate in Bouches-du-Rhône last year was 10 per 1,000 inhabitants, followed by the Drôme (nine per 1,000), Rhône (8.8 per 1,000), Haute-Garonne and Hérault (8.4 per 1,000), Vaucluse (8.2 per 1,000), the Alpes-Maritimes and Tarn-et-Garonne (8.1 per 1,000), and the Loire-Atlantique (eight per 1,000).

Many burglaries were crimes of opportunity, with thieves making the most of careless homeowners leaving easily reachable doors and windows open during hot summers.

At the other end of the scale, the rate in the Manche was just 2.2 per 1,000.

See also: Protect Your Home from Burglars

The 35 most-burgled towns in France:
1 Agde (34) 18,6
2 Aussillon (81) 16,65
3 Manosque (4) 16,65
4 Mazamet (81) 16,65
5 Aix-en-Provence (13) 14,93
6 Benerville-sur-Mer (14) 14,87
7 Deauville (14) 14,87
8 Saint-Arnoult (14) 14,87
9 Tourgéville (14) 14,87
10 Trouville-sur-Mer (14) 14,87
11 Blonville-sur-Mer (14) 14,87
12 Touques (14) 14,87
13 Bourg-lès-Valence (26) 13,16
14 Valence (26) 13,16
15 Portes-lès-Valence (26) 13,16
16 Nîmes (30) 13,07
17 Fos-sur-Mer (13) 12,88
18 Martigues (13) 12,88
19 Châteauneuf-les-Martigues (13) 12,88
20 Port-de-Bouc (13) 12,88
21 Carcassonne (11) 12,84
22 Aubagne (13) 12,64
23 La Penne-sur-Huveaune (13) 12,64
24 Vitrolles (13) 12,32
25 Les Pennes-Mirabeau (13) 12,32
26 Cabriès (13) 12,32
27 Avignon (84) 12
28 Villeneuve-lès-Avignon (30) 12
29 Les Angles (30) 12
30 Fontaine (38) 11,55
31 Gières (38) 11,55
32 Échirolles (38) 11,55
33 Grenoble (38) 11,55
34 Saint-Martin-le-Vinoux (38) 11,55
35 La Tronche (38) 11,55