Lifestyle
France — Living: Safety
France's intentional homicide rate is 1.3 per 100,000 (2023 data), below both the world average (5.2) and the Europe average (1.6) — ranking #133 of 195 countries (lower rank = safer). However, all crime indicators rose 2024-2025: ~5% for physical violence/homicides, up to 8% for sexual violence. The most common risks for expats are petty theft (pickpocketing, phone theft), particularly at train/metro stations, airports, and crowded shopping/market areas — not violent crime. France sits at U.S. Travel Advisory Level 2 ('Exercise Increased Caution') due to terrorism and civil unrest risk, not everyday violent crime.
VerifiedGovernment / official sourceWorld Bank/UNODC crime data / U.S. OSAC Country Security ReportLast reviewed: 2026-07-20
Key facts
- Homicide rate: 1.3/100,000 (2023) — below both world (5.2) and Europe (1.6) averages.
- Crime rose 2024-2025: ~5% for violence/homicide, up to 8% for sexual violence — a rising-trend caveat despite a low baseline.
- Primary expat risk is petty theft (pickpocketing, phone theft) in train/metro stations, airports, and crowded markets — not violent crime.
- U.S. Travel Advisory Level 2 ('Exercise Increased Caution') reflects terrorism/civil unrest risk, not day-to-day violent crime exposure.
Common mistakes
- Conflating the Level 2 travel advisory (terrorism/civil unrest) with everyday personal safety — day-to-day violent crime risk is low; petty theft is the realistic concern.