Cable thefts hit 850 EV charging sites in France this year

Little loot, big costs

The thick cables on fast chargers are the target. A severed cable reportedly sells for only 30 to 80 euros, yet replacing it costs the operator about 1,500 euros, before technician time and revenue lost while the station is down. TotalEnergies has said it replaces cables in about fifteen days.

For drivers, a cut station simply cannot charge. A survey by Enedis-CSA in October, cited by the association, found that 71% of drivers of fully electric cars use public charging. On major routes, where stations can be dozens of kilometres apart, checking availability in the operator's app or the on-board planner before leaving is advisable.

Operators ask for state action

Operators blame organised networks using battery-powered hydraulic cable cutters and angle grinders, working at night on isolated, unattended sites. Driveco, which runs more than 450 stations, sees one or more thefts almost every week and is rolling out Kevlar sheaths with GSM chips. Others use video surveillance, alarms and real-time alerts, while Ionity cites reinforced physical protection, tracking and ink-marking systems.

Courts are starting to respond. Charge France counts fifteen indictments since January, seven of them since September. Toulouse and Troyes handed down two-year prison terms with five- and ten-year bans from French territory, and Nantes imposed sixteen months, all with compensation for operators.

The association wants the Interior and Justice ministries to cross-reference investigations between prosecutors, tighten checks on scrap dealers and send police quickly when a charger raises an alert. Lawmaker Olga Givernet has asked the interior minister to classify the most strategic stations as critical infrastructure under the 2022 EU directive on critical entities, as Portugal does. No decision has been announced. France had about 40,000 fast-charging points at the end of September.