French burglar alarms triggered most in December and summer

December, July and August are the months when home burglar alarms in France are most likely to go off, according to research from security firm Verisure. 

Its statistics from 2025 show that December was the worst for alarm triggers, with 10.3% of the total, followed by July and August with 8.9% each. 

The high concentration of break-in attempts is “certainly linked to absences for the end-of-year holidays,” the firm said in a press release. In contrast, February 2025 was the quietest month, with 7.2% of alarms triggered.

The data also identified the two days when burglars were most active in 2025, with a 101% increase in alarms triggered on each of them: December 31, when homes are generally empty in the evening, and February 24, “the weekend when school holidays in zones A and C crossed, regions heavily impacted by burglaries (Ile-de-France and the south)”.

Most alarms went off at night, accounting for 45.8% of the total, followed by 31.8% for the afternoon and 22.4% for the morning.

Official crime statistics published by France’s Interior Ministry show there were 218,200 domestic burglaries, both main and holiday homes, in 2024. 

Provisional figures for 2025 have the annual total at 212,000 burglaries.

The latest figures do not include cases where homes were occupied by squatters, but in 2022 the government recorded between 6,000 and 7,000 cases.

In spite of the relatively low risk, fear of squatters was something that worried 70% of homeowners, according to a survey by Verisure.

“With our alarm systems there is no difference between a burglar and a squatter. As soon as a door or a window is forced, the alarm goes off,” Alexandre Lack, head of the Verisure brand in France, told The Connexion.

“Our systems work best if there is also video from inside the house (only switched on when the alarm goes off) and our operators can see what is happening – if someone is out to steal or maybe looking for a squat.

“This also applies when the system acts as a support for people living on their own. If they have a fall and manage to push the button, we can see if they are down.”

The market for alarm systems has opened up in France in recent years. As well as security specialists, banks, insurance firms and telephone operators all provide them, for a fee.

Verisure stressed that every house is different, but generally alarm systems can be fitted for less than €1,000, followed by a monthly subscription of €40.

As well as alarms, basic measures to reduce the risk of a break-in include making sure your house is locked, the shutters are closed and that piles of unopened mail do not build up.

In addition, police and gendarmes both run an Opération tranquillité vacances scheme, whereby homeowners going away on holiday can ask patrols to check their property when they are in the area, usually every day or every other day.

France was slower than some other countries, including the UK, to have Neighbourhood Watch schemes, but there are now 1,000 communes that have similar Voisins Vigilants et Solidaires (VVS) set-ups, usually signified by an orange road sign with the outline of an eye on it.

The organisation claims there are 50% fewer burglaries in communes with VVS signs compared to those without.

VVS schemes in France are usually closely linked with mairies, as well as law officers.