Photo: Yodie · CC BY-SA 3.0Lapalud records drug use at 4 times the rate of a typical town its size
It places 734th of the 1,554 compared French towns nearest in size, the least crime first. Lapalud grades B+ for safety overall (#13 of 38 in Vaucluse): less crime per resident than 71% of compared French towns, on offenses police and gendarmerie recorded from 2023 to 2025. Annual rates stand at 5.2 violent crimes and 11.9 incidents of burglary, vehicle theft and damage for every thousand residents.
Offenses recorded per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average (INSEE population of each year). Violence, and burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and criminal damage, count equally.
What stands out about safety in Lapalud
Among towns its size
Among the 1,554 French towns of 2,700 to 5,200 people with a Safety Grade, Lapalud is 734th from the lowest recorded rate per resident. Towns its size ↓
Written from the SSMSI and INSEE data on this page. Figures are offenses police and gendarmerie recorded, not convictions.
The B+ for Lapalud, and how it is built
A less sure grade than most. Built on 173 offenses recorded in the graded categories over three years; with a town of 3,853, a few cases more or fewer would move it between B− and A. 12.6% of the index uses the département’s average for crimes not published here, over 10%.
Hidden counts: for other physical violence, sexual violence, burglary and vehicle theft, this figure isn’t published when it’s small (five or fewer in at least one of the last three years); the index uses the département’s average instead, 12.6% of the index here. What isn’t published ↓
Per resident, against the 4,295 compared French towns with a Safety Grade.
What police and gendarmerie recorded most in 2025
Well above the median of towns its size: drug use (4.7 per 1,000 against 1.2), theft from vehicles (2.6 per 1,000 against 1.2) and theft without violence (6.5 per 1,000 against 4.2). None recorded in 2025: armed robbery and robbery without a weapon. Not published for 2025: other physical violence, sexual violence, burglary, vehicle theft, theft of vehicle parts and drug dealing.
Theft without violence, robbery without a weapon, theft of vehicle parts, fraud and drug offenses are shown for information but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence plus burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and criminal damage per resident.
Per 1,000 residents in 2025; the tick is the median of the graded French towns of 2,500 to 10,000.
About 5 in 1,000: recorded violent incidents a year
Each dot is one resident’s share: offenses are counted, not victims, and one person can be the victim of several.
And 12 burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage, and 9 thefts without violence and frauds: a year, 2023–2025 average.
Lapalud against towns its size
| # | Town | People | Violence | Homes, vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Neuilly-Crimolois Côte-d'Or | 3,588 | 2.2 | 4.8 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 152 | Lauris Vaucluse | 3,921 | 2.9 | 8.6 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 154 | Robion Vaucluse | 4,816 | 2 | 9.5 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 236 | Cheval-Blanc Vaucluse | 4,362 | 3.1 | 9.2 | A |
| … | |||||
| 292 | Sérignan-du-Comtat Vaucluse | 2,939 | 3.7 | 9.1 | A |
| … | |||||
| 731 | Saclay Essonne | 4,437 | 2.2 | 14.9 | B+ |
| 732 | Béligneux Ain | 3,535 | 7.3 | 9.8 | B+ |
| 733 | Pompey Meurthe-et-Moselle | 4,780 | 4.8 | 12.4 | B+ |
| 734 | Lapalud Vaucluse | 3,853 | 5.2 | 11.9 | B+ |
| 735 | Morschwiller-le-Bas Haut-Rhin | 3,694 | 4.3 | 12.9 | B+ |
| 736 | Saint-Paul-en-Jarez Loire | 4,699 | 3.4 | 13.7 | B+ |
| 737 | Bouxwiller Bas-Rhin | 3,754 | 8.8 | 8.3 | B+ |
| … | |||||
| 1554 | Colombier-Saugnieu Rhône | 2,874 | 35.4 | 56.6 | D− |
Per 1,000 residents a year. Context only: the grade compares Lapalud with every compared French town, not just towns its size.
Lowest rate in the graded categories first, 2023–2025 average, with the closest to Lapalud and up to four from Vaucluse.
The recorded rate in the graded categories held steady from 2023 to 2025
Violence · per 1,000 residents
Burglary, vehicle theft, damage · per 1,000 residents
| Kind | In the grade | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Family violence | Violence | 14 | 21 | 12 |
| Other physical violence | Violence | n.p. | n.p. | n.p. |
| Sexual violence | Violence | n.p. | n.p. | n.p. |
| Armed robbery | Violence | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Burglary | Burglary, vehicle theft, damage | 8 | 9 | n.p. |
| Vehicle theft | Burglary, vehicle theft, damage | n.p. | n.p. | n.p. |
| Theft from vehicles | Burglary, vehicle theft, damage | 9 | 8 | 10 |
| Criminal damage | Burglary, vehicle theft, damage | 28 | 22 | 32 |
| Theft without violence | Not in the grade | 10 | 14 | 25 |
| Robbery without a weapon | Not in the grade | n.p. | n.p. | 0 |
| Theft of vehicle parts | Not in the grade | n.p. | n.p. | n.p. |
| Fraud | Not in the grade | 13 | 27 | 20 |
| Drug use | Not in the grade | n.p. | n.p. | 18 |
| Drug dealing | Not in the grade | n.p. | n.p. | n.p. |
Counts mix units, as SSMSI publishes them: victims for violence, offenses for burglary and damage, vehicles for vehicle theft. That’s why the page never adds them into one “total crimes”.
Offenses recorded each year. n.p.: not published (small: five or fewer in at least one of the last three years).
Lapalud and the towns around it
| Town | People | Violence | Homes, vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lapalud | 3,853 | 5.2 | 11.9 | B+ |
| Bollène | 14,024 | 12 | 17 | C− |
| Pont-Saint-Esprit Gard | 10,958 | 7.9 | 14.3 | B− |
| Pierrelatte Drôme | 13,756 | 9.6 | 18 | C |
| Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux Drôme | 8,981 | 7.2 | 13.5 | B− |
| Mondragon | 3,833 | 8.4 | 10.3 | B |
| Bourg-Saint-Andéol Ardèche | 7,661 | 8 | 14.4 | B− |
Lapalud’s recorded rate in the graded categories is lower than each of its 6 graded neighbors’.
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Where offenses happen, not where victims live. SSMSI counts each offense in the commune where police or gendarmerie recorded it happening. Towns with shops, stations, a hospital or nightlife record more per resident, and visitors are part of that count but not of the population it is divided by.
- An index, not a total. The kinds are counted in different units (victims, offenses, vehicles), so the grade adds their rates per 1,000 residents into an index and never shows a “total crimes” or a chance of being a victim.
- Hidden counts. SSMSI doesn’t publish a commune’s count when it’s small (five or fewer in at least one of the last three years). In its place it gives the average among the département’s communes whose count is hidden; the grade uses that average, never zero, and a town gets no Safety Grade when over a quarter of its index would come from such averages.
- Recorded, not all crime. Only offenses reported to or found by police and gendarmerie are counted. Reporting rates differ by kind: most vehicle thefts are reported, much family and sexual violence isn’t.
Questions about safety in Lapalud
Is Lapalud safe?
It has less crime per resident than 71% of compared French towns: an average of 5.2 recorded violent incidents and 11.9 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. It grades B+ for safety, #13 of 38 in Vaucluse. Among the 1,554 French towns of 2,700 to 5,200 people, it is 734th from the lowest rate.
Is crime going up in Lapalud?
The recorded rate in the graded categories held steady from 2023 to 2025: 17.1 per 1,000 residents in 2023, 16.8 in 2025. In a town this size a few dozen cases move the figure, so the grade uses the three-year average.
What is the most common recorded offense in Lapalud?
Criminal damage: 32 in 2025. Then theft without violence (25), fraud (20) and drug use (18).
Sources: SSMSI (Interior Ministry), recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 (base communale de la délinquance enregistrée, 2026 edition) · INSEE, legal populations for each year · INSEE, census 2023 (jobs and working residents) · IGN Admin Express (boundaries) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranking French towns against each other only, updated November 4, 2026. Under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab).
Contains public sector information under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab): INSEE, DGFiP, the Interior Ministry’s statistics service (SSMSI), the Ministry of Education (DEPP), the Health Ministry’s statistics service (DREES) and the Housing Ministry (Carte des loyers). Commune boundaries: IGN Admin Express.