(Really) Petty theft - grounds for suspension?

Hot on the heels of a French supermarket which backed down after threatening to sack an employee for "stealing" from a rubbish bin, comes an incident of a similar nature.

USB key (from Wikipedia, author Usb-thumb-drive.jpg: Evan-Amos)

This time around it concerns a store from one of the country's largest chains and a name known throughout many parts of the world, Carrefour.

As reported in the regional daily Le Dauphine Libéré, management at one of its stores just outside of the southern French city of Avignon has suspended two employees for, as the paper headlines the story "stealing a couple of pens and some chewing gum."

Now while that might tell part of the story and give the impression that management has meted out a punishment that seems inappropriate to the alleged crime committed, it remains a little misleading.

As the paper goes on to say, management claims to have caught the pair red-handed as they left the store, not just with a couple of pens and some gum but also a USB key.

"I just took the pens to use for work," Yassine, one of the men who has been suspended, told the newspaper.

"None of the products was on the shelf and they would all have ended up in the bin or being given to the Food Bank," he added.

Hmmn. The argument that a USB key - or a ballpoint or fountain pen for that matter - might, if thrown out, find its way to the Food Bank doesn't seem a very convincing line of defence does it?.

But perhaps the fact that the "hoard" taken by the two men is reckoned to be worth between 20 and 25 euros suggests that the store's management has rather overreacted.

It's hardly an amount to make a dent in Carrefour's profits.

Of course as far as the director of the store, Fabrice Bertin is concerned, that's not the point, nor the fact that Yassine has worked for Carrefour for the past six years.

"Theft is a serious offence and can result in a warning, a layoff or dismissal," he told the French website Le Post.

"For the moment the case is being investigated and I'll meet the two men on July 20 to decide what measures, if any, to take."

Renault Twingo - France's most-stolen car

So you might be thinking that those big, showy luxurious cars are the ones thieves find most attractive.

Think again!

Because according to a study released by the weekly car magazine Auto Plus, it's a much humbler vehicle that tops the list of France's most-stolen cars; the Renault Twingo I.

Renault Twingo I (from Wikipedia, author Rudolf Stricker)

"A popular car that can be found everywhere and is easy to break in to," is how the magazine describes the car, which finds itself at the top of the list for the third consecutive year; a list which was compiled based on data supplied by car insurance companies and banks.

Second spot goes to another small car, the Smart Fortwo, which, according to Sandrine Darré who conducted the study, "Is also easy to break in to and whose parts could easily be sold for a high price on the black market."

Rounding off the podium is another Renault in the shape of in the shape of the Mégane 2.

It's perhaps not so surprising to find the French car manufacturer so well represented given the fact that it also places well among the country's top-selling cars with several different models.

The highest-placed top-of-the-range car was the Porsche Cayenne, just missing the "podium" in fourth but which Dorré says attracts another kind of thief (obviously) and for quite different reasons.

"The Cayenne is much more likely to be stolen by an organised crime network," she said.

"For example if there's an 'order' from abroad. But it's also used much more in committing other crimes such as robberies and that's why it's ranks so high in the poll."

Of course the figures are not purely based on the numbers of cars stolen.

If that were the case then the Cayenne would probably not figure on the list as it sales are far lower than other more popular cars.

Let's face it, how many people can afford (to buy) one?

Instead the ranking is calculated individually for each model on a ratio of cars stolen for 100,000 insured; 245 for the Twingo and 169 for the SmartFortwo.

There's also some good news in the study.

The number of cars stolen in France was at a 30-year low in last year at 121, 521 or 332 a day.

But Dorré warns the trend could be reversed in the coming years as "electronic theft" whereby thieves can use equipment to counter inbuilt security measures such as the immobiliser, become more widespread.


Palmarès des voitures les plus volées en 2010
envoyé par BFMTV. - L'actualité du moment en vidéo.

Thief steals thousands of euros from sleeping passengers on Air France flight

Anyone knows that when you're in a busy place it's always sound advice to look after your personal possessions.

As in many a city worldwide, public transport operators in Paris make regular announcements warning passengers that pickpockets are about.

It's part and parcel of the "joys" of living and working in a large metropolitan area.

When it comes to flying though, the most travellers can normally expect is to be told to keep their own luggage in view at all times, and any left unattended will be "dealt with".

That's of course before you've checked in and made it on to the 'plane.

But once there, cocooned in your own little space, the chances are for the most part that your defences will be down and you'll feel more secure. Well apart from those who are terrified of flying, but that's quite another story.

And so it must have felt for passengers aboard the overnight Air France Tokyo-Paris flight on Tuesday.

Except for five of them travelling in business class, there was something of a rude awakening.

Because while they slept, a thief was busy at work, relieving them of around €4,000 worth of cash in various currencies.

The alarm was only raised shortly before landing, when one of the victims alerted staff that money had been stolen from her purse.

In other words the thief had been going about his or her business right under the noses of dozing passengers and the cabin crew. And nobody had noticed a thing.

The captain informed airport authorities of what had happened ahead of landing and police were on hand to greet the passengers when the 'plane arrived.

But after half an hour, they decided to allow all the passengers to disembark and it was only the five who had been robbed who were detained to make formal complaints.

So what does Air France, the airline, which in its advertising campaign encourages customers to feel almost as though they're flying in pure comfort without a care in the world, have to say about the incident?