Prosecutors in Lyon have opened an investigation into theft with breaking and entering and sexual assault after a 108-year-old woman was found partially undressed at her home in Villeurbanne, southeast France.
The woman was discovered on her sofa on the morning of August 7 by the carer who visited her flat each day. She was in shock and unable to say what had happened.
Emergency services were called and she was taken to hospital for medical examinations. The prosecution service said the sexual assault classification followed directly from the state in which she was found.
Lyon prosecutors added that the classification did not prejudge what those examinations would establish. No further findings have been released.
Investigators believe several people entered the flat after forcing a kitchen window. Several rooms were searched and bottles of perfume were taken.
No arrests have been announced and no suspects have been publicly identified. The investigation is continuing.
Benjamin Camboulives, spokesman for the Alternative Police CFDT union, told CNews that offenders in France no longer recognised any limits. Policing has been a recurring source of pressure on the French Government, including after disorder during Paris Saint-Germain title celebrations in June left one man dead and led to 890 arrests.
Villeurbanne lies immediately east of Lyon in the Rhône department and forms part of the Lyon metropolitan area. It is among the largest communes in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, one of the regions worst affected by burglary in France.
Interior Ministry figures reported by BFMTV showed 27,648 burglaries of homes and commercial premises in July, up 5.8 per cent on July 2025. Break-ins at private homes alone rose 7.7 per cent.
Half of all recorded burglaries took place in three regions: Île-de-France, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur. Jewellery and precious metals have been a particular target this year.
The ministry noted that recorded figures did not capture the full extent of offending because not every victim came forward.
The July rise runs against the annual trend. The official crime statistics service recorded 211,596 home burglaries in 2025, about 3 per cent fewer than in 2024, while cases of physical violence rose 5 per cent.
Across the European Union, police recorded almost 1.2 million burglary offences in 2024, according to Eurostat. That was 2.6 per cent below the 2023 total but 9 per cent above the level of 2021.
