As Risk of ���High-Value Street Crime��� Increases in Paris, the Super-Wealthy Upgrade Their Protection
Random street crime is something few see as affecting the best-heeled among us.
That, however, is changing, and, particularly, in Europe, where some believe the significant shift in key demographic profiles due to immigration is the reason for the troubles.
France, in general, and Paris, in particular, is currently plagued by a level of criminal assaults that few remember as being evident previously, and the very wealthiest among us are no longer spared the risk of becoming a victim.
The Daily Beast reports that just before the recent, high-profile Paris robbery of Kim Kardashian in her hotel room, a Qatari man was relieved of his $112,000 watch on a busy street near the Champs-Elysees. Additionally, says Daily Beast, Paris visitors the likes of Saudi princesses and rich Chinese tourists have found themselves the victims of street crimes in the French capital.
Just last week, an Indian movie star, Mallika Sherawat, was attacked in the city by three masked men who sprayed her with tear gas. Although she did not have anything taken from her, it is believed that robbery was indeed the motivation for the assault.
In an email exchange with The Daily Beast, Laurent Dequatremard, head of International Protection Services Bodyguard, a French security company, declared Paris to be ���less safe than big cities like London, Manhattan, Hong Kong, or Dubai.��� Dequatremard, whose company specializes in providing security details for celebrities, corporate elites, and others, says that, in his opinion, there are three principal reasons why Paris city streets are now so unsafe: high unemployment, toothless law enforcement, and a marked rise in illegal immigration.
���At the moment it is very dangerous not just in Paris but in other big cities such as St Tropez. There are many refugees, come from Africa and they rob people and houses and do bad things to French people,��� Dequatremard told Daily Beast. When challenged by the news outlet as to his claim that illegal immigrants were largely to blame for the troubles, the security chief did not back down, saying that ���refugees increase the danger. This is what I see.���
By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large
