Several merchants in the Saint-Charles neighborhood of the 15th arrondissement of Paris have been victims of burglaries in recent months. They accuse unaccompanied minors.
They are exasperated. Merchants in the Saint-Charles neighborhood, located just steps away from Beaugrenelle in the 15th arrondissement, have been experiencing a series of burglaries for several months. This is the case for the contemporary Creperie 142, which has filed complaints “between six and eight times” in five years, as reported by our colleagues at Le Parisien.
Three thefts in three months
The Breton restaurateur was recently the victim of two thefts, one of which occurred on Thursday, October 19, where the safe was opened “with a fire extinguisher.” In just three months, his establishment has been burglarized three times.
“The recent thefts concerned the cash fund, but now it’s more substantial amounts… it is my entire activity from the 1st to the 18th, all my meal vouchers, all the cash. Everything has disappeared,” testifies Yannick Le Corvec, speaking to BFM Paris Île-de-France.
At his wit’s end, he is considering reinforcing security. “We are going to revolt. I am going to put a whole range of security measures in place because it is necessary. It’s a shame to have to come to this,” he continues.
Unaccompanied minors and “local delinquency”
The neighborhood is not spared from these repeated burglaries. The owner of a new fast food restaurant has also fallen victim to these nocturnal visits. The latest incident occurred on the same night as the creperie, with the same modus operandi: the burglars break the window, enter the establishment, and break the cash register to steal its contents.
“This is the third time in five months. Three complaints have been filed and when I spoke with my fellow merchants, I thought it would reassure me to know that I wasn’t the only one, but on the contrary. It worried me more to know that they too were targets of burglary and on the same night,” he confides.
These professionals denounce the lack of judicial response to these acts perpetrated by unaccompanied minors, according to them. The city hall acknowledges the difficulty of apprehending these burglars involved in “local delinquency.”
“They are young people who operate at night, starting from 2 a.m., and they are extremely mobile with very basic but effective modus operandi,” explains Anthony Samama, deputy mayor of the 15th arrondissement in charge of Public Tranquility.
The 15th arrondissement is not the only one in Paris to be targeted by a series of burglaries. Two home invasions recently occurred in the 16th arrondissement, less than 48 hours apart.
Maxime Cliet Ruzza with Juliette Vignaud
