Conversely, certain more traditional forms of crime, such as burglaries or violent robberies, continue to trend downward compared to their levels eight years ago. This shift reflects a transformation in the very nature of crime: violence against people is now tending to supplant property crimes as the primary security concern.

Is France an Exception in Europe?

The notion that this increase is a widespread phenomenon across all Western countries does not fully hold up to international comparison.

Harmonized data from the European Union’s statistical office, Eurostat, show that the rise in recorded violence in France since 2017 is among the highest in Western Europe. The rise in homicides, attempted homicides and assaults appears significantly more pronounced than in most major neighboring countries.

International comparisons must, of course, be interpreted with caution. Judicial systems differ, as do practices for recording crimes. But when a single country consistently stands out across several categories of violence, the trend warrants attention.

The most reliable indicator remains that of homicides, which, because it is much less affected by underreporting or differences in criminal classification, generally serves as the best tool for international comparison.

With a rate of approximately 1.3 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in 2024, France ranks among the hardest-hit countries in Western Europe, alongside Belgium and Finland, whereas Germany, Spain, Italy, Switzerland and the Netherlands all have significantly lower rates.

France Between Tanzania and Gabon

Taken in isolation, no single indicator can provide a complete picture of a country’s safety. But when considered together, these indicators are often revealing.

Beyond police statistics, several international rankings regularly place France among the Western countries most exposed to violence. The country has experienced the highest number of Islamist attacks in Europe since the early 2010s. European victimization surveys reveal a high proportion of people reporting that they have experienced physical violence. Other international indicators also highlight a particularly strong sense of insecurity among the French population, while Paris regularly ranks among the European capitals perceived as most dangerous.

Of course, these various indicators do not measure the same reality: victimization surveys rely on the statements of respondents; perception indices reflect feelings rather than objective crime rates. Taken separately, each has methodological limitations.

But when official statistics, international comparisons, victimization surveys and the sense of insecurity all point in the same direction, it becomes difficult to reduce the debate to a mere media or political construct.

At the same time, a new edition of the Global Peace Index has been released, which only serves to confirm this assessment. Considered an unsafe country, France now ranks 99th out of 163 countries. It ranks between Tanzania and Gabon, far behind most of its European neighbors – and even behind Sierra Leone. Based on 23 indicators – ranging from crime rates to internal conflicts, political stability and militarization – the ranking is unequivocal regarding France’s free fall.

The Issue of Immigration Remains Unavoidable

The steady deterioration of security in France naturally brings to the forefront the sensitive topic of the role of immigration and the overrepresentation of foreigners among those charged with certain crimes and offenses.

Data from the Ministry of the Interior do indeed show that certain nationalities or geographic origins have higher rates of being charged than those observed among French citizens, particularly for violent crimes and burglaries. The disparities observed regarding nationals from the Maghreb are very clear.

This finding is not new. It has been documented for several decades, both in France and in other European countries. However, its interpretation remains widely debated.

Statistical overrepresentation does not mean that origin, on its own, is an explanatory factor. Researchers regularly highlight the role of the demographic profile of the populations in question, their income levels, integration difficulties, urban concentration and socioeconomic inequalities. Nevertheless, immigration policy and security policy appear difficult to separate when certain populations consistently exhibit crime rates higher than the national average. Furthermore, crime and poverty are closely linked, and immigrant populations coming to France are significantly impoverished. Refusing to address this issue in the name of ideological considerations will not help resolve the problem.

What Is at Stake in the 2027 Campaign

The main lesson from the 2025 statistics undoubtedly lies in their cumulative nature. Taken in isolation, a single bad year could be attributed to specific circumstances. But when violence rises almost continuously for nearly a decade, the nature of the issue changes.

France no longer appears to be facing a mere fluctuation in crime rates, but rather a profound shift in its security landscape, as assaults on individuals become more frequent and the overall level of violence now sets the country apart from some of its European neighbors.

With the 2027 presidential election on the horizon, the path forward is clear. The argument that France’s insecurity is merely a “matter of feeling” – as some left-wing politicians claimed some time ago – is no longer tenable.