Well, things look very different whether you are in Aurillac or in Marseille. But some areas could possibly be mistaken for a war zone! (<a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.leparisien.fr&#x2F;faits-divers&#x2F;marseille-tirs-de-kalachnikov-a-la-castellane-le-jour-de-la-visite-de-valls-09-02-2015-4518947.php" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.leparisien.fr&#x2F;faits-divers&#x2F;marseille-tirs-de-kala...</a>).<p>More seriously, the problem is not so much homicides than common criminality. Courts almost always give suspended sentences for petty crime, and even when the judge does not suspend the sentence, the policy is to automatically suspend it behind the scene afterwards if it&#x27;s less than 6 months (juge d&#x27;application des peines). And if a criminal still ends up in jail, he would only ever do between half and two third of the sentence. The whole system is designed to be toothless.<p>The example of New York City under Giuliani is a pretty spectacular example of the impact of a tougher penal policy against crime. I am not suggesting this should be the only response but I do think that no response will be efficient without it.