Petty theft from cars in Provence and Dordogne
 

Guide books and some posts state that you should not leave anything of value in your car in southern France. That is easy to say but when traveling between nightly stops I would like to do some site seeing, lunch stops, etc..

Specifically driving from Toulouse airport to Rocamadour I am thinking of stopping at Pech Merle or the town of Rocamadour with a car full of luggage.
After a one night stay I will be driving to Sarlat. On route I would like to stop at Gouffre de Padirac and Carennac ( also select from Martel, Castelnau, Loubressac, Autoire ).
On another travel day I would like to stop in Carassonne for a few hours.
On another travel day I would like to stop at Pont du Gard and possibly Les Baux and Uzes on the way to our stay in the Luberon.

I believe some luggage for the 5 of us will be exposed in the van/wagon I am renting. Are public parking lots safe from theft? Street parking in towns, Uzes? Am I being paranoid to be concerned? Your thoughts. Advice.

We've vacationed for 34 weeks in Provence/Cote d'Azur, 8 weeks in Languedoc/Roussillon, 10 weeks in the Dordogne, and 3 weeks in the Auvergne. Plus another 1 1/2 years or so in other regions in France. Never had anything stolen.

When bags are in the trunk, we try to back the car up against a tree/wall/lightpost/rocks/etc so the trunk can not physically be opened.

Don't worry - enjoy your vacation.

Stu Dudley

We have not had anything taken from our car in all of our travels. This said, we do not leave suitcases or bags on the backseat.

No, you're not being paranoid, and if you have any luggage at all showing, you're a potential target, whether you're on the street, in a public parking spot, or wherever. It's just asking for trouble, as any thief will be able to tell it's a rental car to begin with.

So however you manage it, make sure no luggage is showing at all. Back your car up against a wall or something else if possible. Put a local newspaper or a baguette or something "local" on the dashboard of the car.

<i>Put a local newspaper or a baguette or something "local" on the dashboard of the car.</i>

That might make you feel good, but it spoils the baguette, particularly if it's in the sun; it's better to eat it. The thieves recognize the tourist cars, local newspaper notwithstanding.

Of course it spoils the baguette - it's not meant for eating. And it's usually partly wrapped in paper anyway. And yes, locals of course know it's a rental car, but if it's a rental car with a local newspaper or a baguette or a barquette of fraises or something on the dashboard, they probably figure it's Aunt Clémentine visiting from Paris, not a bunch of American tourists.

I don't think you will find any place in Europe where you will not see the telltale sparkles of broken car glass on the pavement in various places.

However, the Dordogne is not a huge crime area! Exercise reasonable precautions and you shouldn't need to worry here.

Far easier for thieves are all the cars from other European countries - much easier to spot than a rental car, so more vulnerable, and just as likely to have goodies in them.
We park our car backed up to a wall if we can, but still often have luggage on show. It has Dutch plates so is an easy target for thieves.
I don't know if it is luck or not but we have never had anything stolen. Take sensible precautions. Make sure you have your documents/money/camera with you just in case. Handbags, camera cases and jackets left in the vehicle, even if empty of valuables, will be more attractive than just some suitcases.

I can't even begin to imagine why thieves would ignore cars with local papers in. Are people who can read richer than illiterates?

As for the fatuous delusion that America tourists are more worth robbing than Germans or Britons or French people from the next department...

The three major ways of minimising the risk of robbery:
- ensure NOTHING is visible. If you've got too much luggage, get a bigger car or less luggage.
- ensure nothing of real value (passports, money etc) are anywhere in an unoccupied car
- a four-door car: all five-doors, and most two-doors, allow a very nimble thief access to the boot from the car interior.

We regularly drive round Europe with thousands of pounds of equipment to set up house and office somewhere else for a month or so. Our car obviously screams tourists. By obeying these rules, we've never been robbed.

I try not to leave anything of value or interest visible inside my car when I park it. That is my practice at home in the U.K., and also in any other country I may visit. It makes no difference if I am using my own car or a rented one.

Sometimes this is unavoidable, so I try to leave visible only items of no value - a pillow or bedding, for example. Reversing tight up to a wall is a good idea.

Car crime will always happen. Taking a little care will help make it less likely that it happens to you.

By the way, are you supposed to buy a fresh baquette every day, or will a stale one work?

>>- a four-door car: all five-doors, and most two-doors, allow a very nimble thief access to the boot from the car interior.<<

Yep - but all I'm trying to do is to make my car harder to break into than the other cars in the parking lot - hoping that the thieves will pick the car that is the easiest to break into & not be noticed. Kinda like the two guys camping, who encounter a hungry bear & then they start to run away. One says to the other "we can't outrun this bear". Other replies "all I have to do is to outrun you" (old story).

Stu Dudley.

Thanks for the replies. My experience is that in my travel over a 50 year period only once was I a victim of a crime. While I was in England my home in California was burglarized.

On one trip with some friends, they had valuables, passports, airline tickets stolen from a hotel room safe of a high end US hotel chain in Budapest while we were out to dinner. An inside job. So a hotel safe is not the answer even after you are checked in.

Perhaps I will leave a dummy Aunt Clementine sitting in the back seat. Or park near telltale sparkles of broken car glass on the pavement( the odds of two crimes at the same location is very low). A stale baquette could be used to fend off robbers.

Last year we drove Croatia, Italy,Austria, Germany and did not have any problems except eating too much gelato. This year we are taking less luggage, but more guide books including Stu's itineraries to southern France. We are getting a larger car, but this does not get you more covered luggage space.I do not think the cover pulls over the 3rd row of folded down seats.If someone wants my underwear so be it.I will have my passport, ATM card, camera, Garmin GPS, and euros on my person. I just was not sure if southern France was better or worse than the rest of the world for this kind of stuff.

The big problem is getting a car that has a real trunk. Most rentals these days are only hatchbacks, unless you rent in the Mercedes class.

I have not come across a hatchback that does not have a cover. The idea is to keep the luggage out of sight.

I have been lucky through the years. Never had anythig stolen.
if on the road and we stopped for lunch or a pastis, we would stop at a place where we could see our car. We never let maps be seen.
kept a French paper on the seat, and a French book.
I was always amazed how many cars had their luggage showing on seats. if you have no choice, put them on the floor of the carand good luck.

While hatchbacks have covers, they are not as secure as a real trunk.

I agree that while the covers in hatchbacks are good, the OP stated that they will have luggage for five people, so in all likelihood the cover will have to be removed or will pushed up by the luggage.

Don't even think about leaving anything in your car. Thieves are specialised in rent a cars and break into them no matter if they can see your luggage or not. Unfortunately it happens rather often, I know of two couples who had that experience last summer, one in Marseille, one in Vacqueras.

Our tourists are dumber than yours. Here in Nantucket, visitors regularly leave Ipods, mobile phones, GPS, and expensive cameras on the front seats of their Range Rovers, with the doors unlocked and the windows down. They are surprised to return and find their property gone.

There is something about quaint cobblestoned streets and old buildings that make people feel like they are in a different and better world. It's true, it is a better world, but it isn't Eden.