Nantes has published the 2026 edition of its public tranquillity barometer, a tool intended to test the city's reputation for insecurity against crime statistics. The barometer was launched three years ago and is produced by AURAN, the urban planning agency for the Nantes region. It draws on the Interior Ministry's crime and offence statistics to compare the metropolis, made up of 24 communes, with comparable French cities over a five-year period.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday 29 October, Denis Talledec, the metropolis's delegate for security and crime prevention and a deputy mayor, rejected the idea that Nantes is worse than other places. “Is Nantes worse than elsewhere? No. Quite the opposite, as the figures show,” he said. He also said Nantes was not isolated from national and international phenomena.
The initiative is notable because Nantes is one of the few French cities to have such an observatory, according to the presentation. The city has been closely watched in recent years over changes in insecurity, and the barometer is presented as a way to confront that reputation with the reality of the figures.
Sources: Le Figaro.