EV charging cable thefts in France, Digi Mart USA News (France): Electric vehicle charging cables were stolen from 850 sites in France since the beginning of 2026, representing 10% of the fast-charging network, according to Charge France. The association estimates the damage to operators at 18 million euros.
Charge France is asking the government for a national plan to protect the network and to dismantle the channels through which stolen copper is resold. The association reports 15 people have been placed under formal investigation this year, seven of them since September.
Recent court decisions reported by the association include a sentence of two years in prison without parole with a detention order and a five-year ban from French territory in Toulouse. In Troyes, a sentence of two years in prison without parole with a detention order and a ten-year ban from French territory was handed down.
In Nantes, a sentence of 16 months in prison without parole with a detention order was issued. In each case, the courts also ordered compensation for the victims.
Charge France praised the work of police officers, gendarmes and the justice system, as well as the cooperation of operators that contributes to investigations.
France had 40,000 publicly accessible fast-charging points at the end of September 2026, according to a barometer produced by the Ministry of the Ecological Transition, Avere-France and Gireve. The barometer notes that charging points and charging sites are separate units.
Charge France says protecting this network is now a condition for successful electrification and for keeping charging prices low.
An Enedis-CSA survey published in October 2026 found that 96% of surveyed owners of battery electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles are satisfied with their experience. It also found that 71% of battery electric vehicle users rely on publicly accessible charging points.
Charge France notes that a severed cable takes a charging point out of service. For drivers, this means detours, lost time, stress and disrupted trips.
For operators, it means replacing equipment: a cable costs 1,500 euros to replace, while it yields only 30 euros in copper value to the thief. The association warns that these thefts threaten confidence in the charging network and the survival of operators.
Ahead of the 2027 presidential election, Charge France is calling on all candidates to make specific commitments to protect charging infrastructure. Matthieu Dischamps, secretary general of Charge France, said: “We cannot ask French people to switch to electric vehicles and leave them facing charging stations rendered unusable by theft.
Ahead of the 2027 presidential election, we are asking each candidate for specific commitments to protect the network.”
The association asks the Ministries of the Interior and Justice to bring together operators, law enforcement and prosecutors around three priorities: linking investigations across judicial districts, since the cable thefts are described as organized-gang activity; tracing the channels through which stolen copper is received and sold, with more controls on scrap metal dealers; and establishing a specific operating procedure with intervention plans developed alongside law enforcement, taking into account that operators are alerted to thefts in real time, which can enable arrests in the act.
The association asks that this cooperation be systematized nationwide.
Sources and scope: September 2026 barometer from the Ministry of the Ecological Transition, Avere-France and Gireve, published October 12, 2026. Enedis-CSA survey of October 2026, covering 1,009 owners of battery electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles interviewed in July 2026; the 71% figure applies only to battery electric vehicle users.
