Following two years of decline in crime rates during the COVID-19 pandemic, newly released figures from the French Ministry of Interior have revealed that nearly all crimes and misdemeanor offenses—in particular, domestic violence, sexual violence, and burglaries—increased across the country last year.
The figures, published in a report by the statistical service of the French Ministry of the Interior (SSMSI) on Tuesday, January 31st, indicated a sharp rise in crimes involving violence against people, with crimes like domestic violence, sexual violence, and assault and battery outside of the family increasing by 17%, 11%, and 14%, respectively, the French news outlet BFMTV reports.
Homicides have also risen markedly. Authorities recorded a total of 948 homicides last year, 69 more than were registered in 2021, representing an increase of 7.8% year over year.
Similarly, the SSMSI states that instances of thefts without violence, home burglaries, and thefts of vehicles or vehicle accessories “increased markedly in 2022” after having declined precipitously during the COVID-19 pandemic. Home burglaries and vehicle thefts jumped by 11% and 9%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
Despite the considerable uptick, the SSMSI states that these offenses remain “below their pre-crisis level, except for thefts of accessories from vehicles.”
Meanwhile, the number of drug-related crimes also increased considerably in 2022. The number of people arrested for narcotics use jumped 13% following an even sharper increase the year before, at 38%. At the same time, drug trafficking arrests rose by 4% after increasing by 13% in 2021.
Commenting on the rising number of drug-related arrests, an interior ministry spokesperson sought to defend the ministry’s commitment to fighting delinquency, saying “the anti-narcotics activity is still just as dynamic and sustained.”
Of all the crimes and misdemeanor offenses registered, only instances of violent thefts without weapons had decreased from the year before, at 4%. Increases in acts of delinquency were observed “in almost all regions or departments,” the SSMSI states in its report.
On the heels of the report’s release, Marine Le Pen, the former president of Rassemblement National, took the opportunity to criticize President Emmanuel Macron’s government for allowing the spike in criminality to take place and called for action to assert the state’s authority.
“The French have had enough of the laxity of the executive branch,” Le Pen began. “In this crucial area of public tranquility and the security of property and people, enough words, let’s put actions in place: regal firmness and affirmation of the State’s authority everywhere.”
