Think twice before wearing a gold necklace when walking around in Paris. Last month over 500 people had theirs ripped right off, often by underage teams of boys, one who grabs (sometimes accompanied by violence) and one with the getaway scooter. Cameras in the metro captured one woman being dragged out of her chair and beaten. With the rise in the price of gold, these types of daylight robberies have doubled since January. Be on guard, or leave the bling bling behind.
Unwary tourists can make easy targets for thieves because they stand out in a crowd, are unused to their surroundings, and are generally carrying money, credit cards and valuables like cameras.
This recalls the scourge of pickpocketing by Gypsy kids 25 or 30 years ago. It became a major problem in both Paris and Rome. I've never been sure just who was behind it, but it was very organized, and those kids really knew what they were doing.
C'est vraiment effrayant en particulier pour les touristes et les voyageurs. J'espère que la police devrait faire quelque chose pour remédier à ce problème.