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CRIME

Murders in France fall to ‘lowest ever level’

Murder rates in France have dropped to their lowest level in history, Interior Minister Manuel Valls declared on Friday.

Published: 18 January 2013 15:20 CET
Updated: 18 January 2013 18:35 CET
Murders in France fall to 'lowest ever level'
French Interior Minister Manuel Valls, being transported by members of France's gendarmerie in December 2012. Photo: Jacques Demarthon/AFP

Revealing figures gathered by the French national supervisory body on crime and punishment (ONDRP), Valls said that the number of homicides recorded in the country for the year 2012 represented "the lowest ever".

Within France's urban 'police zone', the observatory recorded 430 murders, a 2.3 percent drop from 2011 and in the more rural 'gendarmerie zone,' 235 murders were recorded – a 22.4 percent drop compared to last year. 

By contrast, the number of burglaries recorded in 2012 was up by 14.7 percent in the cities, and by 4.7 percent in the rest of France. 

Speaking at a press conference on French TV channel TF1, Valls declared, "I am going to take on these figures, and confront the reality of crime."  

Crime figures have been a recent source of controversy in France. In December 2012, the right-leaning Le Figaro published a series of articles attacking President Francois Hollande's Socialist government for its ability to tackle crime after figures for the month of November revealed a steep rise in violent offenses. Valls hit back however claiming the figures had been manipulated and were not a true reflection of the level of crime in France.

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PARIS 2024 OLYMPICS

Two computers stolen from French Olympics’ organiser in Lille

Two computers belonging to "a manager responsible for the planning of the Lille Olympic site" were stolen from a car parked in the city, the prosecutor's office said on Tuesday.

Published: 1 May 2024 08:38 CEST
Two computers stolen from French Olympics' organiser in Lille

However, the spokesperson did not specify the nature of the data linked to the Olympic Games that they contained.

“The complaint from a manager responsible for the planning of the Lille Olympic site was received on the evening of April 29 regarding the theft of two laptops and a badge which were in the organiser’s vehicle, which was parked in front of their home,” said Lille prosecutor Carole Etienne.

“Investigations are underway” to identify the suspect and determine “the exact nature of the data that these computers contained in connection with the 2024 Olympics,” she added.

According to a police source, one of the stolen computers was likely to contain “security plans” for the infrastructure of the Olympic village of Villeneuve-d’Ascq in Lille.

The theft occurred Monday at around 6:30 pm, according to this source, who said that access to files hosted on the network and the cloud was blocked by the Paris 2024 IT department.

“In accordance with Paris 2024 procedures, all data recorded on Paris 2024 computer equipment is encrypted and protected by passwords, and as soon as the theft was reported, the computer was locked remotely,”  a spokesperson from the Olympics’ Organising Committee (Cojo) said.

“The security of computer equipment is one of the priorities of Paris 2024, which has taken all risks into account in order to deal with any incident,” the Committee said.

The stolen badge was “an identification badge which does not allow any door to be opened” and “the computer was turned off”, a second police source told AFP.

At the end of February, a bag belonging to an engineer from the City of Paris and containing a computer and two USB sticks where notes relating to the Paris Olympic Games were stored was stolen from a train at Gare du Nord.

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