So if you caught someone in the act of robbing you in your bastille, can you beat them up? Shoot them? Would you get in more trouble than the robber would?
You are unlikely to possess a gun, though it is possible to do so. In the country, a lot of farmers will have a long gun. We had a large group come over - retirees from the company the wife worked for, about 60 of them, for a tour. We had about 20 over to our house and they were to a person astonished we had no walls around the yard. One guy said they would build walls to the sky if they could. I told him quietly "Well, here we just have guns." He nodded.
My good friend in France was beat up in his own garage by three bums. They took his watch and wallet and a few other items from the garage. He said reporting it to the police would be a waste of time. He went to the hospital for his injuries, didn't stay over night. He's 75. He left his garage door up briefly to walk into his fenced backyard and when he returned a few minutes later they were in the garage.
He lives in a small village about 60 miles east of Paris.
We usually stay at a friend's guest house in Fontainebleau. The house is surrounded by 30 foot walls and heavy doors that have a thick metal bar that reinforced the doors because they were forced one night, These are heavy metal doors. We don't go out without securing all of that, it's a bit of a pain at times.
This is in a good part of town.
The wife would never live in France and this is one reason for that.
I could tell a lot of stories, but basically I adopt a different mindset when we're there. You probably won't be hurt, but you can easily be robbed. You don't leave your wallet out at a restaurant, you don't let the credit card out of your sight ever, I carry a fake wallet in my hip pocket. I am very careful with how I place my camera. The wife has a special pocketbook for use in France.