Beyond the media cases which affected Bruno Guillon, Jean-François Piège, or PSG players, burglaries in the presence of the occupants saw an increase of 8% in 2023.
“I wouldn’t wish this ordeal on anyone, not even my worst enemy.” Singer Vitaa spoke on her Instagram account, a few hours after being the victim of a homejacking at her home in Rueil-Malmaison (Hauts-de-Seine), Wednesday December 20. The criminals entered his home in the early morning, their faces hidden, armed with baseball bats and iron bars. They stole luxury bags and jewelry before fleeing, according to a source close to the investigation. “My family and I experienced one of the most trying and traumatic nights of our lives,” continues the singer in her publication.
Many personalities have been targeted: Paris Saint-Germain goalkeepers Gianluigi Donnarumma and Alexandre Letellier, host Bruno Guillon, presenter Anne-Sophie Lapix, or even chef Jean-François Piège… But this is not than media victims of a much larger phenomenon. “The targets are above all Mr. and Mrs. Everyman, many craftsmen, business leaders: everyone who supposedly has money”observes Guillaume Maniglier, deputy head of the Central Office for the Fight against Organized Crime (OCLCO).
“They pretend to be a delivery man, a neighbor, a worker…”
The authorities have recorded 515 home-jackings and attempted home-jackings in 2023, compared to 475 in 2022, an increase of just over 8%, according to figures provided by OCLCO. However, a decline has previously been observed for several consecutive years. Thus, in 2019, there were 585 incidents of this type. There is a “magnifying glass effect”underlines Loubna Atta, spokesperson for the police headquarters, because “several celebrities were affected, which led to strong media coverage of the phenomenon.”
The scenario is often the same: masked men enter their target’s home, most of the time without breaking in. “They pretend to be a delivery man, a neighbor, a worker…”, describes Loubna Atta. The latter recalls that the English term “home-jacking” (which literally means “home hacking”), formed on the model of “car-jacking” (for cars), has no legal existence: it covers all thefts committed in accommodation in the presence of the occupants.
They sometimes attack homes in several neighborhoods, but in general, the perpetrators “operate on smaller areas, on which they can be extremely active, in serial mode”, details Guillaume Maniglier. They use social networks more and more regularly to locate their victims. “It’s quite stupid, but a selfie outside your house is already enough to give your address”, says David Sudan, lawyer specializing in this type of case. Not to mention the photos of the interior of the homes, which provide valuable information.
“They say they will have easier access to the safe”
However, there are still a lot of more classic locations, “by going to nice neighborhoods to try to detect a more isolated house, with an appearance of opulence”, explains Guillaume Maniglier. There are also many exchanges of “plans” between criminals: “One has interesting information and gives it to another team”. Not to mention the delivery people, “who are easily bribed, and who have a whole series of addresses in stock”, adds lawyer David Sudan.
His colleague Mary Krief, who represents several victims, assures that some of them were targeted because they were Jewish. “Two of my clients were identified by the presence of a mezuzah on their door [un rouleau de parchemin que la communauté juive appose pour protéger son foyer]“she says.
“Unfortunately, for some, Jewishness is synonymous with wealth.”
Mary Krief, lawyerat franceinfo
The lawyer has also observed for several years a shift in the mode of action of attackers. Whereas they previously preferred to stick to classic burglaries, in the absence of the occupants, they now ensure that the latter are present. “They tell themselves that they will have easier access to the safe, and terrorize their victims into giving up the codes.”
More and more young repeat offenders
Two types of profiles emerge. On the one hand, there are very well prepared teams, “equipped with weapons of war”. They carry out “a big job” upstream and have logistics allowing them “to project oneself abroad”, notes Guillaume Maniglier. At the end of January, several sponsors in Switzerland, based in the Lyon region, were arrested after a “big year of investigation”, specifies the deputy head of the central office against organized crime. They targeted managers of Swiss watch companies. “After having sequestered them, they went to their businesses to recover precious metals, gold, cash…” These experienced authors, aged on average “30 to 40 years old”, “can be violent on purpose, to make a victim or their family speak”according to the police officer.
However, most of the teams are made up of young, repeat offenders. “Most are between 16 and 25 years old”, points out Loubna Atta, whose statistics concern Paris and its conurbation. Investigators even observe a rejuvenation among the arrested perpetrators. “We caught a 14-year-old, and most are under 20”, slips a highly placed source within the judicial police, who investigates the most serious and complex facts. “They are known for common law crimes: contempt, rebellion, lack of permit or theft of telephones from train stations.”
“Some have a history of narcotics and aspire to be recognized in the world of banditry by committing home-jackings.”
A judicial police officerat franceinfo
Salomé Cohen, a lawyer at the Paris bar, who defends several defendants involved in this type of case, also notes that many of them are abandoning drug trafficking, a “business in which you have to have a certain form of experimentation” to stand out from the game. Not to mention that the danger in this environment has increased: the number of homicides or attempted homicides jumped by 57% between 2022 and 2023. Enough to chill those who hoped to do so. make a place. “Many have the feeling that home-jacking is within everyone’s reach, especially since you don’t even need weapons to get started,” analyzes the lawyer.
“A team of broken arms”
The authors also operate with equipment “very disparate, like hammers or pelectric impulse pistols“, says David Sudan, who also represents defendants involved in this type of burglary. There “democratization” home-jackings opened the way to “very amateur teams, who sometimes take very few precautions and are arrested much more easily”he notes.
On the night of January 1 to 2, four other men, aged 19 to 23, were arrested during an attempted burglary at Nikos Aliagas in Fontenay-sous-Bois (Val-de-Marne). Their trial was held at the Créteil criminal court on January 30. “We were really dealing with a team of broken arms”coward the lawyer of one of the defendants, who prefers to remain anonymous. “They came from roughly the same corner of Yvelines, but did not all know each other. They were recruited the day before, on Telegram. None of them knew where they were going, but they were promised a nice loot”he adds.
The team was quickly put to flight by the property’s alarm system. A BAC patrol that was in the area chased them for several streets, before the fugitives ended up hitting a central reservation, then a tree, putting an end to the chase.
A lack of experience which can lead to great violence
Amateurism is also evident in the Bruno Guillon affair. The host of Fun Radio and his family were victims of a homejacking, on the night of September 26 to 27, at their home in Tessancourt-sur-Aubette (Yvelines). “Of the three perpetrators, two wore their own socks as gloves,” notes a police officer who worked on this case. According to him, “there was a really low level of anticipation, they must have had the directions an hour before”.
The host was threatened with a handgun, while his wife was tied up and gagged at hammer point. The burglars also went to their 14-year-old son’s bedroom, where they tied the child with a serflex and a cable tie. In such cases, the lack of experience of the attackers often gives way to violent outbursts.
“As the attackers are not very confident, at the slightest resistance, they panic and do not hesitate to hit the victims.”
A police sourceat franceinfo
The police officer cites another case, concerning two octogenarians kidnapped at the beginning of December in Viroflay (Yvelines), who escaped “alive but very damaged”. “They struggled, which resulted in them being hit in the face. We’re talking about little old people, 1m60 tall.” Their cries allowed the perpetrators to flee, who were quickly arrested and are currently in pre-trial detention. “They will take firm action, without a doubt,” predicted the policeman.
Victims “marked for life”
In the opinion of the various actors interviewed by franceinfo, the justice system is generally harsh with the attackers. There are many of them appearing, due to the “very high rate of elucidation on home-jackings”, welcomes Guillaume Maniglier. “There are often a lot of traces to exploit, cross-checks to make, videos to exploit, which regularly leads us to be able to question all or part of the commandos.”
For the aborted burglary attempt at Nikos Aliagas, the defendants were sentenced to sentences of up to 18 months. One of the defendants, who had two mentions in his record for refusing to comply, received two years in prison, including one year of suspended probation, and one year on an electronic bracelet.
Salomé Cohen has defended a number of offenders who had their first stint in prison when they were still minors. “They get out, start again, get out again and end up getting three to four years in prison at 20, 21 years old. The sentences are heavy, because there are victims, and that is very often taken into account”assures the lawyer.
These latter are “marked for life”assures Mary Krief, who defended a mother tied up in the presence of her three little daughters, in the middle of the afternoon. “The children were screaming so loudly that it scared the perpetrators away”, relates the lawyer. Since then, her client has bought baseball bats and absolutely wants to move. “She didn’t come to the hearing, she can’t bear the idea of seeing her attackers again.”
Speaking about the future, Guillaume Maniglier wants to be reassuring: “A very large number of teams have been arrested in recent months, either as part of investigations lasting several months, or in flagrante delicto. Several dozen criminals have been arrested throughout France, which must have had a impact on these networks.” The coming months should make it possible to know whether the phenomenon has been contained or whether it is “in an ascending fashion, which continues to be emulated”.