In recent years, there have been a number of similar smash-and-grab robberies in the same area where the Qatari women were attacked. Police say criminals favour the portion of highway around the lengthy so-called Landy Tunnel because of the steady flow of wealthy travellers who frequently pass between Le Bourget or the bigger Charles de Gaulle International Airport and the city. In a tight, contained environment, there is often traffic gridlock - plus plenty of exit routes where assailants can easily escape.
In February 2010, Christine Chernovetska, the daughter of Kiev's then-mayor, told Paris police that thieves stole $4.8 million euros in jewellery from her as she was stopped in traffic (although the details were later disputed). In August 2014, a troop of Kalashnikov-wielding men stole $330,000 worth of valuables from a convoy of cars belonging to a Saudi prince headed into Le Bourget. Likewise, in April 2015, three robbers shattered the window of a taxi carrying a Taiwanese art collector, stealing a handbag that contained $5.6 million of her jewellery.
Earlier this month, the French government pledged to install more surveillance cameras in portions of Paris where robbers often strike.
