French Prefect Warns Rampant Migrant Crime Plagues Rhône Cities
6th August 2025
Fabienne Buccio, the prefect of France’s Rhône department, has fired warning shots about escalating crime rates tied to Algerian nationals in her region while expressing deep frustration over Algier’s persistent refusal to accept deportees. Her assessment reveals a growing crisis where offenders operate with what she describes as a “feeling of impunity,” knowing deportation efforts will likely fail.
Speaking in an interview making waves across French media, Buccio revealed alarming statistics: foreign-born individuals account for a staggering 60% of arrests in the Rhône department, which includes Lyon, France’s third-largest city. Even more striking is the fact that at least half of these arrestees are Algerian nationals.
Buccio explained the current system’s limitations: while some convicted criminals serve prison sentences, others are transferred to administrative detention centers (CRAs) after completing their terms to prevent their immediate return to the streets. “When I can place them in a CRA upon release from prison, I do it – because we can’t just put them straight back on the street,” she said. Judges have begun imposing the maximum 90-day detention period more frequently, but this temporary solution merely delays an unsolved problem.