It seems Lille has a permanent subscription to the podium. After taking first place in this ranking in 2024, then third in 2025, the capital of Flanders finds itself this year in second place among French cities with the highest exposure to crime, according to the ranking published by Ville-Data. And it's not the only northern city to appear at the top of the list.
Lille climbs back to 2nd place
For its 2026 ranking, Ville-Data assigns Lille a crime exposure index of 1,208.9, a level presented as 133% above average. The city thus finds itself in second place nationally, just behind Lyon, which takes the lead with an index of 1,247.3. Bordeaux completes the podium with 1,179.3, ahead of Paris, Grenoble, and Rouen. For Lille, the ranking takes into account a total severity index of 325,190, based on an estimated daytime population of 270,524 people. As a point of
By comparison, the city has 238,246 permanent residents. Using the crude frequency indicator employed by Ville-Data, taking into account this actual footfall, the statistical probability of experiencing a delinquent act in Lille is estimated at 1 in 12.Lyon dethrones Bordeaux, Lille gains a spot
The top of the ranking changes its face once again. After Bordeaux in 2025, it's Lyon that takes first place in 2026, with an exposure level announced as 141% above average. Lille, for its part, gains a spot and moves from third to second position. Behind the Lyon-Lille-Bordeaux trio, Paris arrives fourth, followed by Grenoble, Rouen, Bobigny and Marseille. And the North is particularly well represented this year since Roubaix arrives in 9th position and Valenciennes in 10th. Three cities from the department thus feature among the top ten in the ranking. Not exactly the regional triple we were hoping to celebrate.
A new ranking to come
Handle with tweezersBefore you start looking over your shoulder at every street corner, an important clarification is needed. Ville-Data itself reminds us of the purely informational and necessarily incomplete nature of its ranking. Crime data is based on incidents recorded by police and gendarmerie services: it therefore does not represent the entirety of acts committed. The 2026 ranking also relies on an exposure index that no longer simply compares the raw number of crimes to the number of permanent residents. It notably takes into account the severity of incidents and an estimate of the population actually present in the city each day. A particularly important element in Lille, a student city, tourist destination, and border town where thousands of people circulate daily without living there. In other words, this second-place ranking obviously doesn't mean that a Lille resident has a 133% increased risk of being attacked when going out to buy bread. The ranking measures statistical exposure based on a m
precise methodology, and not the feeling of security experienced day-to-day.And elsewhere?
The ranking holds a few other surprises. Lyon, Lille and Bordeaux make up the 2026 podium, followed by Paris and Grenoble. Rouen comes in 6th, Bobigny 7th and Marseille 8th. But it's especially the presence of the North that stands out: after Lille in second place, Roubaix ranks 9th with an index of 1,005.3, while Valenciennes closes the top 10 with 989.4. Further down, Montpellier comes 11th, Mulhouse 12th, Vénissieux 13th, Perpignan 14th and Avignon 15th. Amiens also appears in 18th place. A reminder that behind a necessarily eye-catching headline lies data that's far more complex to interpret than a simple ranking of cities where it's "good" or "bad" to live.
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