Where in France do people report feeling safest (and most at risk) in new survey
Departments with larger cities tended to fare poorly
Feelings of safety were higher in rural departments
Srdjan Randjelovic/Shutterstock
More than one in five people in France report feeling unsafe in their local area, according to new data from the French Interior Ministry.
In the Seine-Saint-Denis department this rises to one in three, however in contrast less than 10% of people in many rural departments reported feeling unsafe when in their neighbourhood or village.
The figures come from the service statistique ministériel de la sécurité intérieure arm of the Interior Ministry, and make up part of a report by the group about how safe (and unsafe) people feel in France.
Data was gathered from more than 100,000 people in France, making the study one of the most comprehensive of its type in the country.
Figures for feelings of safety at a departmental level come from 2022, as local data from the more recent 2023 part of the study has not yet been released.
People feel safer in rural areas
Overall, 21% of people in France reported feeling unsafe in the study, up 3% compared to its previous results.
Unsurprisingly, fear was highest in departments dominated by major cities and the Parisian suburbs. These have more people and in turn see higher levels of crime.
The poorest-faring departments were:
Seine-Saint-Denis (Parisian suburb): 338 people per 1,000 reported feeling unsafe
Paris: 280 per 1,000
Bouches-du-Rhône (Marseille is in this department): 267 per 1,000
Val-de-Marne (Parisian suburb): 250 per 1,000
Nord (Lille is in this department): 233 per 1,000
Rhône (Lyon is in this department): 230 per 1,000
Val-d'Oise: (Parisian suburb): 230 per 1,000
Vaucluse (Avignon is in this department): 227 per 1,000
Hérault (Montpellier is in this department): 219 per 1,000
Loire-Atlantique (Nantes is in this department): 215 per 1,00
In comparison, people reported feeling safest in:
Manche: 66 per 1,000
Haute-Corse: 77 per 1,000
Gers: 77 per 1,000
Hautes-Alpes: 84 per 1,000
Aveyron: 85 per 1,000
Côtes d'Armor: 88 per 1,000
Pyrénées-Atlantiques: 88 per 1,000
Cantal: 91 per 1,000
Haute-Loire: 95 per 1,000
Corse-du-Sud: 101 per 1,000
Read more: What to do (and not to do) after a home burglary in France
What caused feelings of unsafety?
Feelings of safety were linked to a number of factors, including the presence of police/gendarme.
Generally, in departments where more than 150 residents per 1,000 felt scared outside, there were fewer than 30 safety personnel per 10,000 people on the streets.
Less impactful than the actual number of security workers was the perceived presence of them by residents.
For example, comparatively ‘safe’ departments such as Corse-du-Sud and Corrèze ranked among the lowest for number of patrols seen, even though they both rank high for the number of agents working.
This is due to the rural nature of the departments, however, meaning residents may not often see these patrols in action.
Compare this to more urban departments such as Alpes-Maritimes (home of Nice and Cannes), where the number of spotted patrols was almost double that of Corrèze despite having half as many agents working per 10,000 people.
One area where a correlation is clear, however, is that feelings of unsafety are higher in departments where more crimes are committed.
Departments where residents felt least safe had higher crime rates – particularly Paris and the departments housing major cities of Lille, Marseille, and Lyon.
More rural departments where people reported feeling safest had the lowest level of crime.
Note it can be difficult to measure full details of crime, with some operations including drug busts reported differently to burglaries, etc.
In addition, many victims of crime do not come forward, despite it now being possible to file a complaint for most types of crime from home.
Read more: You can now report certain crimes anywhere in France using online tool
Other points to be aware of is that statistics on the number of police officers present come from 2019, ie. not the same year, 2022, as the reports on feelings of insecurity.
Mapping of some of this data is available through a Le Figaro article on the data.
Do you feel safe in your department? Do you often see police/gendarme on patrol? What would you recommend to improve safety? Let us know via feedback@connexionfrance.com
