Crime happens everywhere, but it's easier to panic when you have to fill out the police report in French. Learning the process ahead of time will help you keep a cool head if your home is broken into or your pocket picked.

It was seeing the shards of wood and plaster scattered across the floor that I remember best.

The burglar(s) had kicked in my door so violently that part of the wall in my apartment in Avignon had been ripped out. Clothing and toiletries lay strewn about; my cabinets and drawers gaped open, their contents rifled.
 
Falling victim to burglary – or a mugging – is always traumatic. But I can assure you from personal experience that having it happen in a foreign country is even more as the panic impairs your ability to communicate; what's more, your basic reflexes about where to go and what to do may or may not apply.

Vacation homes are notoriously vulnerable to break-ins out-of-season

Yet responding to a crime is not so different in France than elsewhere and simply briefing yourself on basic emergency response procedures in France will help you keep a cool head in such a crisis.

Call the gendarmes!

So someone has broken into your home: what now?

"Touch nothing!" insists Commandant Constatin of the Avignon police department. "Don't even straighten up."

The police may want to investigate the scene closely, looking for clues or dusting for fingerprints. But don't waste your time hurrying to the police station either; if you do, they will simply instruct you to turn around, go back home, call them, and wait for the investigating officers.

To call the police, the surest strategy is to find a landline and dial 17 (or, if you have trouble getting through, dial 18 for the fire department).

If you have no landline, find no phone booths in the vicinity and a mobile phone is your only option, then dial 112 (the emergency number for mobile phones). Expect a delay, however, as operators try to direct you to the station closest to you. (I used my mobile here in Avignon and it worked fine, but the police will tell you that a landline is always preferable.)

When the officers do arrive, they will fill out what's called a premier constat. This is a brief report on the basics: times, dates, point of entry, possible suspects, etcetera.

To complete this form, they will ask you for some form of identification, preferably a passport although they will accept a driver's license, French or foreign. (It's a good idea to keep at least a photocopy of your passport or other ID cards in your wallet at all times in case they are among the stolen items. If so, you should contact immediately your embassy about your passport and your prefecture about your carte de séjour.)

When the police are finished, they will give you a copy of the premier constat. It's very important to keep this copy because you will need it to report the crime, or déposer une plainte, at the commissariat de police, which is the next step. Tell the front desk: "Je me suis fait cambriolé et je voudrais déposer une plainte."

An officer will sit down with you and ask you exactly what has been stolen. At this stage, obviously the more specific you can be, the better but, for insurance purposes, make sure to end this interview by stating that more items may have been stolen, but that you're not sure. If you have missed something in your initial inspection, leaving the report open-ended will make filing your insurance claim easier.

Dealing with your insurance company

Whether or not your rent or own, your assurance habitation is the policy that will cover all stolen items as well as associated damage to your home, including any acts of vandalism committed during the crime. If you live in an apartment building, you are only responsible for your front door and everything inside. Any damage to common spaces (the hallway, staircase, main entry door) is the responsibility of the landlord.

They're not just decoration; close your shutters when you're not home

To begin the process, you must present your insurance company with a copy of the second police report, la plainte, from the commissariat. Your insurance agent will then send an expert to your residence to evaluate the situation, and make a recommendation as to the final amount of your compensation.

Remember that this is negotiable if you think the total is inadequate; if your French is weak, then this is perhaps a reason to shop for a UK-based insurance company or a French company that hires English-speaking agents. It doesn't mean they'll be any more fair, but you'll be on more level ground for bargaining.

The expert visiting your home will ask to see your list of stolen and/or damaged goods as well as receipts for these goods; this is one of the reasons why the French are so obsessive about keeping receipts for everything.

If you can't produce receipts for items purchased in your home country, still include them in the list and note approximately how much you paid for them. Your insurance company might still reimburse you, but not necessarily in full. (My insurance company allows a two-year window in which to produce receipts and add items to the claim.)

You've Got a Picked Pocket or Two

This doesn't just happen to tourists.

Should your purse or wallet be snatched, head directly to the police station or call them using the same telephone procedure mentioned above. In either case, you'll need to file a report in person at the police station.

Replacing your carte bleue is free; however, most banks charge around EUR 13 to cancel it, that is, faire l'opposition. When you do, the operator handling your case will give you a reference number. Then, as soon as possible, you'll need to visit your bank in person and confirm that you had your card blocked; they will ask for both the reference number and a copy of the police report.

To replace your carte vitale, contact your département headquarters as soon as possible. The replacement card is free, but may take a few weeks to arrive.

Prevention is Preferable

As Commandant Constantin explains, you should do everything in your power to "make [the thieves'] job harder."

• Make sure to close those shutters when you leave the house for any significant amount of time; they're not just for charm, but for security.
• Keep a record of the serial numbers of your big-ticket items, home appliances, computers, cameras, televisions, etcetera.
• Take digital pictures and file them away of any jewellery, antiques, or other items of significant value.
• Walk with your purse or mobile phone away from the street side.

"A lot of this is common sense," admits Constantin. "But I find that people need to be reminded!"

American Nicholas Phillips is a freelance journalist living in Avignon. He teaches English but unfortunately his primary-school students seem to find M. Phillips more interesting than their vocabulary lessons.

April 2006

Copyright Expatica

Subject: Living in France