Saint-Tropez authorities have long managed to keep under wraps the massive wave of burglaries that hit the shiny peninsula each summer, regularly ruining summering visitors’ vacations.
“It’s known around here that you never leave your house open, even when you are at the pool, because thieves will sneak in the back door and clean you out: watches, jewelry, laptops, Hermès bags, Vuitton luggage,” says a local.
“Or they’ll creep in at night . . . and make off with everything. I hear dozens of stories like that every summer.”
But now, the Var-Matin newspaper reports that gangs of marauders are roaming the quaint port town — which attracts the likes of Rihanna, Beyoncé and Jay Z — ripping $150,000 watches off the wrists of wealthy tourists as they window shop, “often with violence.” According to the local daily, Audemars Piguet and Richard Mille watches are the most targeted.
The muggers work in pairs, one stealing the watch as the other arrives on a getaway motorcycle so they can zoom off into the crowds.
The town’s many surveillance cameras apparently helped law enforcement apprehend a couple of the muggers; nevertheless, the Saint-Tropez police department is increasing street patrols.
The crime wave follows a couple of seasons of skyrocketing prices, and local businesses are feeling an impact, with restaurant owners and shopkeepers complaining of a major drop in activity this summer.
“Only the one percent can afford to vacation here anymore,” says our source. “And then they get robbed. Who wants that? No wonder everyone’s going to Spain this year.”