A
“scourge”
which does not make the headlines in the media, but which
“affects
businesses
in all the towns and villages of France”
.
Since being a regular victim, Jérôme Jean, former owner of a ready-to-wear store in Amiens (Somme) and now founder of the
“Ras-le-vol”
collective , is fighting to combat theft. display, which has continued to explode in France in recent years.
According to the most recent data from the Ministry of the Interior, 42,000 thefts were recorded in 2022, an increase of 14% compared to the previous year.
In detail, 26,829 shoplifting incidents were recorded in large cities, compared to 23,377 in 2021. In rural areas, there were 15,093 thefts in 2022, compared to 13,152 in 2021.
The cause, of course, is inflation, pushing the most desperate to secretly snatch products from the shelves... and the more experienced thugs to use this excuse excessively.
Because for traders, the rise in prices does not explain everything.
Many of them believe that justice, authorities and legislation are not up to this
“misfortune”
, which constitutes a
“dead loss”
for traders, who are also affected by the increase in the cost of living. .
“Thieves enter businesses with impunity”
Behind this observation by Jérôme Jean, a significant event.
In January 2023, the fifty-year-old, then the victim of yet another clothing theft, filed a complaint at the police station in his city.
“I asked the agent who registered my deposit if we had any chance of finding the thieves.
He looked at me with some empathy and replied: “Almost none.”
However, Jérôme Jean had recorded the video of the theft, using his surveillance camera, and attached the files to his complaint.
“So I appealed to the people
,” he confides.
Their videos showing the thieves in action, they publish them on social networks.
“I asked people who saw these individuals not to intervene and to call 17.”
Before taking action, however, he seeks the advice of his lawyer.
Categorical, he warns him that it is prohibited, and cites article 226-1 of the Penal Code.
By publicly displaying a person's face without their consent, the trader risks a one-year prison sentence and a fine of 45,000 euros.
“This is the France we live in
,” protested the former trader at Le
Figaro
.
“Today, thieves enter businesses with complete impunity.
They risk nothing.
But I, who point the finger at their responsibility, am risking something
. ”
For now, Jérôme Jean is knocking on wood.
No prosecution was initiated against him even if, according to him,
“the public prosecutor of Amiens did not appreciate (his) approach at all”
.
Despite this sticking point, last year he managed to secure a meeting with Olivier Véran, then government spokesperson.
“When I met him to alert him of the shoplifting, which affected me and my colleagues, he advised me to create an association to represent the traders.
Because alone, I didn’t really weigh
. ”
Insults and threats
At the head of the Ras-le-Vol collective, Jérôme Jean has since brought together no fewer than 3,000 traders.
And received thousands of messages of support.
Although he does not encourage photos of the criminals to be displayed in stores or published on the networks, many shopkeepers have done like him.
In Nice, several owners set up a “thieves’ wall”
a few months ago .
Among the photos, that of two thieves operating in the city center.
“They come in two, the first pretends to need you, the second takes the opportunity to steal three or four coins and run away,”
one of the traders told
Nice-Matin
.
And to continue:
"The police take our complaint, but for less than 200 euros of theft each time, I think they don't care, we never get any follow-up."
After a few days of posting, the merchants suffered reprimands from certain customers and the authorities, who reminded them of the law.
Faced with reprimands, traders are forced to remove photos from their establishments.
In Rennes, in Ille-et-Vilaine, the display of photos of thieves in a supermarket in the Courrouze district went even less well last February, we learned.
A small gang
“started coming in the summer of 2023. They were quite verbally aggressive,”
the director of the establishment
explained to
Télégramme .
“For a while, it was almost looting.
They came to steal to steal, sweets, chips..."
After several visits,
"they took out a fake weapon."
Faced with these repeated thefts, the manager decided to display photos of the thugs, taking care to blur their faces.
A few days later, she received a visit to the store from one of the young people involved, who tore down the posters, and threatened her by telling her
“that she has no right”
.
Sometimes display is good.
“Eight times out of ten, the thieves do not come back
,” estimates Jérôme Jean, who himself received threats and intimidation by telephone after his action last year.
Some perpetrators even go so far as to return to the scene of their theft to return the stolen objects, apologizing.
By virtue of this type of benefit, Jérôme Jean published a petition a few months ago to
“authorize merchants to broadcast the faces of thieves”
.
It has already mobilized no fewer than 7,340 signatories.
A proposed law gives hope to traders
Is the MoDem deputy for Ain Romain Daubié one of them?
At the end of January ,
the elected official tabled a bill to legalize
“name and shame”
for
businesses , in order to fight more effectively against shoplifting.
The practice, present in the United States or Japan for example, where businesses and authorities do not hesitate to display photos of offenders in public, is not
“always virtuous, but can have the effect of holding the perpetrators accountable of facts, and a deterrent effect on recidivism
,” believes the politician.
To defend his proposal, he cites in particular its use in other sectors,
“such as the economy, when it seems appropriate to point out that this or that company is not respecting certain of its obligations”
.
The Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention also used it last year to denounce the
“deceptive commercial practices”
of several influencers, as did the prefects of certain departments to point the finger, for example for example, restaurants which are subject to suspension of activity for illegal work or lack of hygiene.
In his bill, Romain Daubié recalls that video surveillance images
“cannot be used or disseminated under penalty of sanctions, under image rights.
The only way to use these images is to keep them as evidence (...) during a trial after filing a complaint.
He believes that
“many traders feel discouraged by this long and complex procedure, the uncertain results of which provide little motivation and provide little protection against thieves repeating their offenses.”
It thus intends to supplement the Penal Code and article 226-1, so that the
“consent of people entering businesses (...) using video protection is presumed”
.
For the moment, Romain Daubié's proposal is not on the agenda of the National Assembly.
But it is intensely supported for the Ras-le-vol collective.
“We know that Romain Daubié will do everything necessary.
Especially since this deputy is also a lawyer
,” hopes Jérôme Jean.
“Many traders support this proposal.
Otherwise, I fear that the thieves will go unpunished..."
The investigation into the shoplifting committed in Jerôme Jean's business is still ongoing, more than a year after the events.