This is the same chief of police who personally arrested a guy running an illegal gambling scam on the bridge in front of the Eiffel Tower some months ago. At least he doesn't seem to be living in an ivory tower. I hope having his smartphone stolen will encourage him to get tougher on all the scam artists that currently infest the city.

The OP gives a reference that makes no mention of a <i>commissaire de police</i> having been taken by such a scam.

For the sake of clarification, I'll rephrase my last posting:

Could we get a reference to the fact that some police official--"chief of police" does not sound right--was scammed?

yes, I'd like to see that reference also.
The Chief of Police in Paris is Michael Gaudin (yes, that is his office). You can Google his name and find various things including his speaking out about the rise in phone theft in Paris. But I can't find a reference to his phone being stolen. If it indeed happened, it seems it would easily pop up on Google -- no?

Michel ( without the "a") Gaudin. Interesting, as Paris as an administrative region is the only one with two <i>préfets</i>. In my mind, his duties are larger than those of a chief of police; there is a problem in being somewhat aware of the different national hierarchical structures.

Here's one source:

<i>The thieves at the Gare de Lyon train station distracted Paris police prefect Michel Gaudin by asking him to sign a petition and swiped the mobile telephone from his pocket, sources told AFP.</i>

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news...ectid=10760553

An article in French in Le Parisien:

http://www.leparisien.fr/paris-75/pa...11-1660482.php

Thanks.

Yes, thanks for the links. But I'm sitting here scratching my head at that Starbuck's story. They did two posters -- one of a 'dark skinned man' and one of a white woman both as targets of pickpockets -- and they had to remove them because of claims of racism. Huh? Dark skinned people can't be victims along with white people? Is there no end to the ignorant PC patrol?

http://www.smh.com.au/world/a-farewe...214-1oux9.html

After the Romanian police finish the job in Paris there'll be work for them in Sydney -

http://www.smh.com.au/national/why-r...215-1ow7w.html

Today's BBC story - "French crack down on Roma gangs " - reports it's "a country-specific [Romanian] problem"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16428195

Fell straight into this, got scammed out of 20 Euros. Well that's a damnit. Not too concerned though. What got me is that she just asked if I spoke english and to sign something first. She even offered to give me change. Sucks, but this was my first time to europe, that'll teach me to let myself get scammed again. I was just worried that she didn't get my ID or anything

loring - the "do you speak english" bit is a favourite opening gambit, while they wave their clip-boards and ask if you care about poor/deaf/mute/starving/children etc. etc.

at least it was only €20!

Yep Livv and learn right?? Never doing anything like that agiain. They just make me nervous sometimes expecially other beggars. But I'll live

I probably got scammed last week on the Riviera. Coming around a curve in the back country, I was waived down by a driver on the side of the road. He pleaded for money because his credit card was not accepted and he could not he could not get gas and had three kids in the car, even offered his ring as collateral, etc. etc. Between the three of us (my wife, the man and I) with a different agenda it was impossible to get a straight story. I think that if I had told him to stop pleading and answer my questions (how much gas left in the car? how did he get to that spot 5 km. from the nearest town?), the scam would have become clearer. The episode cost me 10€.

Michael, next time just carry on driving. I would personally not stop for anyone who waved me down like that. You never know what they could be after.

Yeah, I certainly don't stop on the road, even at home.

Michael - we were scammed in Tunisia very many years ago, [long before mobile phones ere even thought of] when we were driving to Sfax and were flagged down by a small boy standing next to a car up on a jack. He said that his father's car had broken down and could we give him a lift into town so that his uncle could come back and help his father?

well, we couldn't see any harm in this, so we let him hop into the car, and he guided us to his uncle's place, where of course we had to be invited in for a cup of tea, and guess what? his uncle had a carpet shop.

we made our excuses and left, but it could have cost us great deal more than €10 - you were lucky!

When we were in Paris in April 2011, a "deaf/mute" woman put the clipboard in front of my husband. He replied: I'm going to call for police." She immediately walked away from him, having not only heard him but understood his English. Unfortunately, we were not so lucky in the Bastille Metro station, where my husband was mugged by two Romanie teenage boys. Beware! They had us pegged because we needed help purchasing tickets using the machine. This was not a case of pickpocketing but a physical assualt, which we reported at the local police station. Before we left, a Chinese couple came in to report the same problem but at the Hotel de Ville station.