Prior to the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics (Friday, July 26), some of the competitions will begin on Wednesday, July 24 in several cities in France, including Paris. A large number of people are expected to be present during the competition. Be aware that places and facilities where large numbers of people gather are likely to be the targets of terrorism and crime. Please refer to the following safety precautions and examples of crimes, and while in France, please pay close attention to your surroundings and baggage, and if you see a suspicious person or situation, please leave the area immediately.
1 Safety Measures in the Event of a Crowd
In general, there is a risk of accidents such as knocking over chess players, and crimes such as pickpocketing and purse snatching tend to increase in areas where many people gather. Please be very careful.
Hold your belongings (backpacks, handbags, etc.) in front of you to prevent pickpocketing.
Be aware that places where large numbers of people gather are generally easy targets for terrorism, and pay close attention to your surroundings and keep your stay as short as possible. If you see a suspicious person or situation, leave the area immediately.
If you hear an explosion or gunfire, get down immediately. Protect your head. Hide behind a sturdy object. Immediately leave the scene in a low position.
Try to remain calm even if people around you are in a state of panic to prevent secondary damage such as injuries.
2 General Crime Prevention
The most common types of crimes in which Japanese nationals are victims are pickpocketing and theft, such as leaving items behind, etc. In July 2024, the Embassy of Japan in France received more than 10 reports of thefts involving Japanese nationals. Please be careful with your baggage during your stay in France, and if a stranger approaches you or talks to you, do not fight him or her and leave the area to avoid becoming a victim of crime.
For your information, the following cases of theft by Japanese nationals have been reported to the museum in the past three months.
When using the subway, a person was pushed as he/she boarded a very crowded subway car, and his/her hand reached into the bag he/she was carrying.
When going through a subway ticket gate, a strange man suddenly approached him and entered with the same ticket as his own. The man quickly moved away, but when he checked his personal belongings, he found that his passport and valuables had been stolen from his bag.
A family was descending a subway staircase when their bag, which was slung over their shoulders, went around to their backs because they were holding their child. The passports and cash belonging to all family members in the bag were stolen during that time.
During the day, five or six men surrounded me at a subway transfer station and released me shortly afterwards. I didn’t realize it at the time, but when I arrived at my destination airport, I realized that my passport had been stolen.
When he boarded the subway in the daytime, several people rushed in and took his shoulder bag in the confusion, and the perpetrators got off the train just before the doors closed and fled.
A person left his bag containing his passport and other documents in a padlocked locker in a shared room, left the room for about 30 minutes, and returned to find that the lock was properly locked, but his bag had been stolen.
When taking the French bullet train (TGV), the luggage on my seat was stolen within a minute or two after I left my seat.
When using a bicycle rental service, you left your baggage in the basket for a while, but when you returned, your baggage was gone.
While taking pictures of the Eiffel Tower from the observation deck at night, the zipper of a shoulder bag was opened and the victim’s passport and wallet were stolen.
While walking with a friend through the Arc de Triomphe underpass at night, the zipper of her shoulder bag was opened and her passport and cash were missing.
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