Going on vacation means leaving a home empty for two to three weeks. The State offers a free service for this specific situation, the "Opération Tranquillité Vacances" (Holiday Tranquility Operation), which many people know by name without knowing exactly what it covers. It is worth using, provided you understand what it actually does.
What the OTV actually is
The principle: you report your absence to the police or gendarmerie, and your home is added to their patrol routes. The National Gendarmerie summarizes it as follows: gendarmes and police officers will keep an eye on your home during their patrols and will notify you in case of any issues.
The important word is patrols. This is not continuous surveillance, it is not an alarm, and no one is stationed outside your home. These are passages integrated into existing rounds, the frequency of which depends on available staff and the workload in the sector. The benefit is real but limited: a visible and random presence, plus a trained eye to spot an open door or a forced shutter.
How to sign up, in practice
The process has been entirely digital since June 2022, via the Ministry of the Interior's online service, using FranceConnect authentication. You will receive an acknowledgment of receipt by email. It is still possible to sign up in person at a police station or gendarmerie brigade with an ID and proof of address.
Conditions differ depending on your area, and this is the detail that often leads to failed registration. In police zones, the service covers primary residences for absences of 3 to 90 days, and registration must be completed between 45 days and 3 days before departure. In gendarmerie zones, secondary residences are also accepted, the absence can last up to 12 months, and registration remains possible until the day before departure.
A practical point often discovered too late: modifying a registration already saved requires a physical visit. It is better to get the dates right the first time.
What the OTV does not cover
The service operates from the outside and intermittently. It does not alert you the moment a door is opened, it does not document anything, and it does nothing against the most common scenario: a short absence, a weekend, or a workday. Yet these absences are infinitely more frequent than a three-week trip, and they do not entitle you to any patrols.
Insee data on burglaries indicate that two-thirds of targeted homes were unoccupied at the time of the incident. Unoccupancy is the factor, not the season.
The same source provides a more encouraging figure: for 55% of victimized households, the burglary stopped at the attempted stage. A significant portion of attempts fail, which is precisely the argument in favor of obstacles and deterrents.
The three blind spots you need to cover yourself
The first is the alert. A patrol passes, or it doesn't. An opening sensor on the front door warns you the moment the event occurs, even if you are 800 kilometers away. This is the information the public service cannot provide you.
The second is the signal of occupancy. A house that is clearly empty is a chosen house. An exterior that lights up when someone passes by, using a solar motion-sensor floodlight, or a visible outdoor camera, affects the decision made before anyone even approaches the door.
The free actions that count just as much
The Ministry of the Interior publishes a burglary prevention sheet that boils down to a few simple reflexes: double-locking even when you are home, not leaving a key in the inside lock of a glass door, and putting away DIY tools that could be used to force an opening. To which is added the most effective of all, and the only one that has become digital: do not announce your departure on social media.
Corresponding products
For a prolonged absence, three references cover the blind spots of the public service: the opening sensor for alerts, the HD WiFi outdoor camera for the perimeter, and the keyed lockbox for temporary access. These are all in the catalog.
To go further
To monitor the interior during your absence, see the indoor WiFi camera. And for the exterior perimeter, the outdoor camera.