Car theft: Bouches-du-Rhône remains the most affected department in 2024

"We go around the street three times, but I don't have my car anymore, it's vanished." Like this Marseillaise met by BFM Marseille Provence, thousands of Bucco-Rhodaniens had their cars stolen in 2024.

The department remains the most affected by vehicle thefts, according to the barometer of the professional insurance organization GIE Argos. 4,596 thefts were recorded last year.

Even though the number of thefts has fallen by 5.4%, or 248 fewer vehicles stolen, the phenomenon remains difficult for law enforcement to contain.

"A guy who stole a car whose victim will probably be reimbursed by the insurance and who committed it without violence, there are magistrates who can consider that these are not the most dramatic things... That is why sometimes we do not have a prison sentence," regrets Rudy Manna, spokesperson for the Alliance police union.

The first place in the ranking for Bouches-du-Rhône can partly be explained by the geographical position of certain municipalities, such as that of the Phocaean city which dominates the ranking of cities in France with the most stolen cars. Its port allows smugglers to quickly take stolen goods out of the territory to send them to North Africa and thus resell them.

"Vehicle theft is increasingly professional and international, so people are interested in cars abroad. It is less and less about theft of opportunity, that is to say I move from one place to another, but more I do business," explains Benoît Leclair, director of the GIE Argos.

To limit mishaps, insurers are calling on individuals to take steps to protect their property. Among the reflexes to adopt: systematically park your car in your garage, do not park your vehicle in a dark area, and do not leave it in the same place for too long.