mhsqcx081114

Form the Australian Government Travel Advice website for France, dated 20 June 2017 :

"Vehicle break-ins

Vehicles are frequently the target of crime, including purse snatching from cars stopped in traffic and theft from unattended vehicles, particularly in the south of France near the Spanish border, near the Italian border and in the north, on the remembrance trail around the Somme and in Normandy. Rental vehicles are often targeted, even in remote small villages."

and from the travel advice for Spain dated 15 June 2017 :

"Crime

Thieves commonly target motorists, especially (though not only) along the Mediterranean coast from Marseille in France to Valencia in Spain. They might try to convince you to pull over because of an apparent problem with your vehicle, or offer assistance to change a slashed or flat tyre. While one assists you, an accomplice steals from the car. Cars with foreign number plates are often targeted. Thieves have also broken into caravans and motor homes, particularly in public parking areas."

My partner and I are intending on travelling around the Pyrenees region later this year. We will have a French lease vehicle which has different number plates to standard French vehicles.

We are a bit concerned of being targeted because of the number plates.

How prevalent are the incidents mentioned in the travel advices above? Is it mainly a problem near the coastal regions e.g Perpignan?

We would be mainly travelling much further west as far as midway between the Mediterranean & Atlantic coasts.

We would like to be able to enjoy our time in this region without having to be overly cautious.

Any thoughts/experiences?

trooper

Drove a rental all round Normandy.....parked it all day in Bayeux while doing a tour...parked it anywhere we felt the need to get out....

Had no idea there was a problem...and experienced none....

Tamino

This has been going on for some time. Never leave valuables in a car. Some suggest you empty the glove box and leave the door open to prove it is empty.

Leased cars are very easy to spot as they use red plates. Rental cars are also easy to spot, They are generally licensed all in the same departments. I believe that Europcar licenses all of their vehicles in Haute Normandie. A vehicle in Nice or Marseille with displaying a 76 department number will draw the attention of thieves who quickly assume it a Europcar rental.

Other signs; telltale stickers such as the small white squared gasoil sticker above the refuel port if the car uses diesel, a distinctive lack of floor mats, or maps left visible on the interior.

The looting of unattended vehicles is a well documented problem. Plan accordingly.

WorldLux

which occurs pretty much anywhere. Don't leave valuables in the car and you'll be find. You're not heading to a war zone but the South of France.

cf. the other thread you open on exactly the same topic in the Spain subforum.

Again. Leasing cars don't get particular license plates.

For the rest, see the other topic. Answer are exactly identical....

WorldLux

Not every leased car has red plates and not every car with French red plates is leased. There are numerous reason why a car has red plates (test car, ferry ride to another country). They are IMO frequent enough to not draw any particular attention. the "97X" plates draw much more attention IME.

Yes. Similar to Germany and other countries, the large rental car companies registered their cars with the same regional number (in the case of France, it's the number of the département). It usually has to do with financial or fiscal advantages.

I think that most rental cars are currently registered in 76. That said, you can't really know with the new number plates given that, AFAIK, you can registered a car in Paris and have a "2A" for Corsica. The departement number is there purely for nostalgic reasons and some even slap a sticker over it with their favorite football team.

I doubt however that a single "76" will draw more attention than a number plate that is totally out of place (e.g. a 13 near Belgium or a 02 in Montpellier).

I believe that Europcar licenses all of their vehicles in Haute Normandie. A vehicle in Nice or Marseille with displaying a 76 department number will draw the attention of thieves who quickly assume it a Europcar rental. Sixt has small stickers on the windows (Maybe on a side window ??? I don't remember it precisely).


PS: "75" signals to other drivers to be careful and keep enough distance to an inexperienced driver.

mhsqcx081114

Thanks for everyone's responses.

The lease vehicle we had in 2014 had white text over red background on the number plate. I remember we had some strange looks while travelling in Germany.

During the last trip in 2014, when we travelled through central & NW France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Austria & Italy, we never had any issues.

During that trip we didn't visit the Pyrenees area. It was only that the current travel advice seemed to concentrate on this area that has raised some concerns. We are generally pretty careful, so I think we should be ok.

MSPeconomist

It sounds like the OP will have the (excise) tags free plates offered to people who aren't permanent residents. In French the word "detaxe" is used. The plates do look distinctive, traditionally black on an off white oval in Germany and bright red in France and Belgium.

In most places of Europe, you should never leave anything visible in your car or let someone see you placing items in the trunk when you park the car. For a while, some Europeans were removing car radios every time they parked the vehicle. It might be saver to use paid parking, either an expensive garage or a place where you tip the guy hanging around to watch your car. I'd try to avoid the type of hatchback and van that has a visible luggage compartment.

Of course, always lock the car and be cautions around strangers, including those who offer to be helpful (sometimes after they've deliberately caused a minor accident). Some of these ordinary street smart habits can be useful in parts of the USA too.

If you cross between France and Spain or use your car on French expressways, expect to sometimes be stopped by police who demand to check your ID and the papers for the car. The French authorities at times are very concerned about finding people who might own property in France but improperly get one of these cars on which the TVA (=VAT) has not been paid.

Dianne47

I've seen youtube videos of people pulling over, getting out, and the thief sneaks up to the driver's door and grabs items inside. This is EASY to prevent. If, that is if, you get out of the car (even to pump gas or check the trunk) LOCK the car. Don't give anyone an opportunity to steal while you're looking the other way.

mad_rich

Everywhere has it's car crime hotspots. The best you can do is take all the precautions and stay alert.

"Don't leave anything in the car" is nice in theory - and in parts of Spain I've been advised to leave the boot, glove compartment and even the windows open! - but there are times when you have to leave stuff in the car for a few hours.

The rules I've followed are

- lock it all in the boot if you can
- leave nothing on display to indicate you might have a bootful of goodies (touring maps, phone chargers etc)
- never open/ repack the boot where you've parked (stop a few miles sooner if you need to do this)
- park somewhere busy, even if you need to pay for parking

Touch wood, I've never had a problem even when leaving a fully packed car for two nights.

stut

Heh, when we used to live Northern France, it was always a joke that you stayed clear of '33' plates (with apologies to any Girondins on the board). Sadly, my experience of driving in SW France does perhaps reflect the stereotype - some pretty abysmal driving, some of which rather looks like the rather excellent wine of the region is just too much temptation for those on the motorways to steer clear of. There's a noticeable downturn in behaviour after lunch.

And then the traffic jams. Even the massive predictions of which days are going to be the summer chaos days often fail and the Autoroute des Deux Mers can grind to an almighty halt. Then everybody's GPS clicks in to tell them the alternative routes and you can't get off because that single tollbooth at the next junction is struggling to process the 200 cars waiting for it.

Apart from that, not had an issue, including driving over the border into the (Spanish side of the) Basque country.