It has become celebrities’ worst nightmare: home-jacking. Over the past months, figures such as Vitaa, Nikos Aliagas, Bruno Guillon, and Jean-François Piège have all been targeted in their own homes, often while present, by criminals — frequently very young and particularly violent. The loot can reach several hundred thousand euros.

Between careless celebrities, reconnaissance techniques, and brutal assaults, this is an investigation into a growing phenomenon spreading fear inside people’s homes.

Last year, authorities recorded 482 home-jackings (robberies committed in the presence of victims) in France — almost one per day — more than half of them in Paris and its surrounding region. While some victims are public figures, many are ordinary private individuals targeted by increasingly organized and well-informed gangs.

These groups often break in during the day, usually without forced entry, masked and armed. We follow the investigative work of the Versailles criminal police: where do these new burglars come from? How do they operate? How do they choose their targets?

Some attacks are especially violent and deeply traumatic. Alongside the GIGN, we follow surveillance operations and arrests of offenders who stop at nothing to seize jewelry, luxury handbags and cash.

We also try to understand why this phenomenon has grown so rapidly. Today, home-jacking is seen as more “profitable” and less risky than armed robbery. Young thieves even respond to online “job offers.” Who are the masterminds behind these networks? Investigations reveal that accomplices can sell addresses and access codes for a few hundred euros.

Social media is also a major source of risk, as many people do not realize how photos and videos of their homes can make them vulnerable.

The trauma is often so severe that victims are willing to spend vast sums to turn their homes into fortresses.