On the Sunday night prior to the Kim Kardashian raid, for example, thieves snatched a Richard Mille watch valued at about $112,000 from a Qatari man on a bustling, upscale street just a short walk from the Champs-Élysées. Saudi princesses, Emirati singers and wealthy Chinese tourists have all also been targeted while visiting the French capital.

As a result business is booming for French security firms offering bodyguards, or ‘close personal protection’, as the industry terms it.