The number of pickpocket thefts in Paris has rocketed 33 per cent since the start of the year, with tourists the prime prey of gangs of mainly Eastern European minors, according to police. Public transport authorities accounted the worrying rise to security agents being overwhelmed by violent yellow vest protesters in the French capital in recent months. They also blamed the rise on the difficulty in prosecuting, or expelling where applicable, the foreign, underage thieves they do catch. According to police cited by Le Parisien, gangs of mainly young girls, numbering between five to ten, pounce on a carriage when they spot unsuspecting tourists. “Tourists come all the time but are loathe to file a legal complaint because they don’t want to waste time,” one public transport employee told the paper.

Source: The North Africa Journal April 01, 2019 17:26 UTC