Since 2009, armed robberies in France have gone down by 44% and in 2014 the decrease was 21% (2,619 incidents known to the police and the gendarmerie is the lowest figure since 1996)¹. This decline is part of a general downward trend which has prevailed since the second half of the 90s, and which has only been punctuated by three sudden rises in 1996, 2002 and 2009.
Evolution of armed robberies in accordance with the nature of establishments
| 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | Var. (%) 2013/14 |
|
| Entire commercial sector | 3.426 | 3.149 | 3.211 | 2.319 | -28 |
| Financial establishments | 192 | 176 | 139 | 104 | -25 |
| Industrial and commercial establishments | 3.186 | 2.931 | 3.035 | 2.193 | -28 |
| Non-food retail outlets | 1.292 | 1.311 | 1.163 | 728 | -37 |
| Service stations | 245 | 246 | 208 | 153 | -26 |
| Cigarette stores | 540 | 571 | 580 | 368 | -37 |
| Jewellers and the like | 359 | 327 | 224 | 119 | -47 |
| Pharmacies | 100 | 118 | 104 | 56 | -46 |
| Perfume stores, hairdressers, beauty parlours | 48 | 49 | 47 | 32 | -32 |
| Food outlets | 719 | 642 | 752 | 605 | -20 |
| Large stores 400 m² | 245 | 193 | 264 | 208 | -21 |
| Smaller stores 400 m² | 474 | 449 | 488 | 397 | -19 |
| Accommodation, catering services | 430 | 397 | 424 | 337 | -21 |
| Hotels | 110 | 78 | 88 | 65 | -26 |
| Bars, restaurants | 320 | 319 | 336 | 272 | -19 |
| Others | 745 | 581 | 696 | 523 | -25 |
| Long haul transport companies | 48 | 42 | 37 | 22 | -41 |
In 2014 in relation to 2013, armed robberies of financial firms decreased by 25%; robberies involving non-food retail outlets did so by 37%, whereas the downturn affecting food-related retail outlets was 20%.In spite of this, it must be noted that in 2013 outlets larger than 400 m² witnessed a slight increase in violent crime. Finally, the hotel and catering sector also saw a drop of 20% over the two years in question.