“In my street, more than 50% of the houses have been visited”: a Montpellier resident of the Croix d’Argent testifies

Le couple a été réveillé, en pleine nuit, par un individu qui tentait de pénétrer au sein du domicile. Midi Libre – Illustration RICHARD DE HULLESSEN

A homeowner, exasperated by the repeated burglaries and the growing feeling of insecurity, describes the heavy atmosphere that reigns in the Croix d'Argent district in Montpellier.

What would be your reaction if you came face to face, in the middle of the night, with a burglar?? The question has already bothered you but you have never been confronted with such situation.

A 37-year-old man from Montpellier, married and father of two children, experienced the scene on the night of Monday 27 to Tuesday 28 May when, around 2am, he and his partner were woken up by a suspicious noise.

I was mistaken, sir, I'm a delivery man!

“We heard as if someone wanted to enter the house. The first thing I thought about was what I was going to defend myself with. Then I opened the shutters overlooking my garden and I saw an individual walking calmly with a lamp in his hand without a hood or anything."

"I said to him: “But what are you doing here ?” And he answered me as calmly as possible: “I made a mistake sir, I'm a delivery man”. But when I told him to wait and I was coming down, he ran away."

A well-known situation

In the morning, he called the security center at Montpellier town hall where his testimony was apparently taken seriously. He was even assured that patrols would be sent more frequently to the area for a few days. But he can hardly believe it.

"It's been going on for six months. It’s simple, in my street, Allée Martine-Carol, there are more than 50% of the houses that have been visited. Not to mention the rolled up cars. So much so that we felt obliged, in addition to being on “Vigilant Neighbors”, to have an alarm installed."

It’s on the verge of exploding

"The situation is such that most of us would like to create a neighborhood committee to alert the public authorities", adds the thirty-year-old. If nothing changes, some neighbors have even mentioned organizing rounds and arming themselves. Which raises fears of an escalation of violence.

“There is an upsurge in France”

"It’It’is a suburban and residential area, in itselfçit’é not that it is the target of break-ins like other districts of Montpellier elsewhere", confides the deputy mayor Sébastien Cote. And the chosen one à the “protection of populations” to develop his analysis. "There has been an increase in burglaries in France since the start of the year, a consequence of inflation, of the energy crisis and the decline in purchasing power. Montpellier is no exception. the rule."

A balanced observation by the interdepartmental direction of the national police of Montpellier which, if it confirms a general upsurge, "does not note a significant increase on the Silver Cross sector in terms of thefts recorded in houses and garages".

&It should be noted that a suspect was arrested on Thursday, May 30, following a complaint filed a week earlier. The technical and scientific police accuse him of at least three burglaries in the areas committed on May 6, 10 and 24. He should be brought before the courts this Monday afternoon.

"It is already a difficult neighborhood because it is plagued by drug trafficking. We live with it as best we can. But now, the burglaries are affecting us directly. It's on the verge of exploding. I get up every morning to earn money for my family, I can tell you that I'm going to defend it."

While preparing a baby bottle, she comes across a stranger in her kitchen

And to describe an increasingly heavy atmosphere with local residents who are on alert when they open their garage, take out their bike or take out the trash…hellip;

A psychosis has taken over an entire neighborhood. We would be less so when we know that a young mother who was preparing a bottle for her 6-month-old baby surprised a stranger in her kitchen one night around 4 o'clock in the morning!

My wife can't sleep at night

"This is too much. My neighbors, who have lived there for thirty years, have just told us that they are thinking about selling their house. My wife can't sleep at night."

"Besides, I have to leave with friends within two weeks. She already called a friend who has two Malinois and asked her to come sleep at our house. It still goes a long way. Something has to be done."

I subscribe to read more