A British tourist had his £165,000 Richard Mille stolen from him next to the Eiffel Tower.
The man, who has not been identified, reportedly had his watch taken from him as he walked through the famous Champ-de-Mars park in Paris on Sunday morning.
He told police that he was approached by two ‘Eastern European-looking women’ who asked him to sign a petition as he walked through between 10am and 11am.
He refused to do so, and walked away. But minutes later, he was approached by a group of four men who offer to sell him a photograph.
The Briton once again refused and hailed a taxi. But when he checked his watch, he realised it had vanished.
The man reported the incident to cops at the 7th arrondissement police station, and an investigation was opened.
According to Le Parisien, the Paris prosecutor’s office said that while it had been ‘informed of these incidents… at this stage, the individuals have not been arrested.’
Tourists in Paris are often deliberately targeted as easy marks by thieves.
The man, who has not been identified, reportedly had his watch stolen as he walked through the famous Champ-de-Mars park next to the Eiffel Tower (File image)
A British tourist has had his £165,000 Richard Mille stolen from him next to the Eiffel Tower (File image of a Richard Mille watch)
The problem is so endemic that even restaurants are scamming visitors, an undercover investigation found.
Le Parisien sent out a Parisian on the Champ-de-Mars near the Eiffel Tower.
They also dressed up one of their reporters as an American tourist and directed them to the same cafe to reveal exactly what was happening at the holidaymaker hotspots.
They both seated themselves at the unnamed diner and ordered the same dish – lasagna, a Coke and water. All the while they had been filming themselves.
The clearly ‘French’ customer was served a can of Coke for €6.50 (£5.63) and offered a carafe of water along with his dish.
However, the ‘American’ was not offered a small can, only a ‘medium or large Coke’.
When it arrived, it was just half a litre and cost €9.50 (£8.23).
As for the water, the ‘American’ received no offer for a carafe, which is free, but was instead made to spend a further €6 (£5.20) for a small bottle of Vittel.
The server also offered the ‘American’ a side of garlic bread without specifying that it was an extra. They were later charged a further €6 (£5.20).
The pair then walked to a different nearby cafe-restaurant to test its policy on tipping.
When the bill arrived, the French customer noticed their receipt included an obligatory ten per cent service charge.
But the ‘American’ tourist was asked if he wanted to tip as ‘service isn’t included’.
And to make matters worse, when he agreed to add a 10 per cent tip via the card machine, he noticed the waiter had discreetly hidden the amount and increased this to 15 per cent.
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