💬 Paris Forum

Never keep your phone or wallet in your back pocket. Wear a cross-body bag zipped in front of you. Ignore anyone handing you petitions, friendship bracelets, or asking if you dropped a ring!

I've lived in the 11th arrondissement for about five years now, and while the pickpocket warnings sound scary, you don't need to be paranoid—just aware. On Metro Line 1, the most common trick is a phone snatch right as the metro doors are closing, especially at tourist-heavy stops like Châtelet, Louvre-Rivoli, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Keep your phone tucked away in a zipped bag rather than holding it in your hands while standing near the doors.

I've lived in the 11th arrondissement for about five years now, and while pickpocketing definitely happens—especially on Metro Line 1 around Tuileries and Châtelet—you don't need to be paranoid, just proactive. The single most common trick on the Metro is the 'door-grab.' Thieves wait by the train doors and snatch phones out of people's hands right as the chime sounds and doors close. Keep your phone tucked away whenever you're standing near the doors, and never put your wallet in a back pocket. Around Sacré-Cœur and the Louvre, be wary of people approaching you with clipboards asking for petition signatures or trying to tie 'friendship bracelets' on your wrist. Just give a firm 'Non, merci' without stopping and keep walking. A simple €20 cross-body bag zipped in front of you is all you really need—no need to spend a fortune on fancy anti-theft gear!