In Lewisham they “do” burglars with a screw driver, found not guilty of manslaughter.
No, they just shoot burglars and tresspassers there as my family informed me as is their right and SIL already eyeing up some hardware to protect the homestead plus a warning sign is already in place from the previous owners who had guns.
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A dog works well 
well it did for us, in the UK. A few of the neighbours had gardening equipment stolen, even the policeman opposite!
Strangely I have been looking a crime rates over France.
Best thing is to do what you can to make it look like you are at home when you’re off on your hols. Get a neighbour to park their car in your driveway. Have someone keep the grass cut for you, water any containerised plants, and empty the mailbox. Put up a sign to say that CCTV is in operation — even if it isn’t. A sign to say that there is an alarm is also good, as is a ‘Beware of the Dog’ sign on the gate.
If you have a closed garage, then use it all the time so that the visible absence of a car is normal.
Put a table lamp on a timer and also a radio.
Just do whatever you can to make it look like you are in residence and Burglar Bill will probably opt for an easier target down the street.
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Sage advice as 94.3% of burglaries are opportunistic.
And 87.5% of statistics are made up on the spot - but, joking aside, Robert gives good advice. Ultimately you just need to make your place look less attractive to a potential burglar than anywhere else.
It’s a bit like the joke about the two guys and the bear - you don’t have to run faster than the bear - just faster than the other guy.
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Do you remember the guy in Norfolk that got imprisoned for that ?
Yes - I believe the law in the UK at least is that you can’t use violence against an intruder unless it’s to protect yourself from a physical attack, and your response has to be “proportionate”. The mere fact that someone has broken in does not justify harming them. Which may seem bizarre to some but actually I think it’s right.
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A friend had a long dog chain in the driveway which ended just short if the entrance gate. He didnt have a dog but the sight of the hefty chain and the thought of the loose guard dog it might restrain was enough to deter unwanted visitors.
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There are fake dog bark gadgets you can buy as well 
That’s a neat idea, especially if coupled to sensor activated exterior lighting.
Especially too if the chain had a huge spiked collar on the end of it!
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My biggest concern is squatters, more than burglars, since we’re there only a few weeks of the year.
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yes, that could be a worry.
I have the keys to near by houses which are not often used. All well secured, to gain entry (without my keys) one would have to break down the shutters/locked doors (and that’s illegal)
I check the houses regularly and if I were to find someone had broken in I’d call the Gendarmes immediately.
Perhaps you could arrange similarly with a neighbour ?
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We have friends in the village who pass the house several times a week, and Cussy also has a ‘communications network’. I think it would be spotted quickly, since the status of the house is well known and it’s always securely locked and shuttered when we aren’t there.
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Wasn’t the big problem there that he shot the burglar in the back, thereby dramatically reducing the ‘self protection’ argument?
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wikipedia link is interesting and worth reading to the end, not just skimming.
Some Romanians from a camp just outside Lyon burgled seven houses a few years ago whilst their occupants slept.
They stole friend’s handbag but were so stupid as to use her carte bleu at the payage, so were photographed.
We installed a porte roulante over the back door to the sous sol after that episode.
A few armed response company signs dotted around the edge of your property and a radio controlled alarm system is essential in suburban S Africa. You choose your company on the basis of their estimated response time to your address with a pick-up truck and some big guys with pump action shotguns. Mine reckoned on four minutes, which is probably as good as it gets,
The only time I got burgled, I was out and the guys turned up while the kids were still in the house. I didn’t ask what happened, but I know they didn’t shoot them. Just checked and they’re still in business, in fact they’ve since opened a second branch at the other end of town.
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I don’t have any guns, so I’m not going to shoot anyone… but…
I have my trusty hockey stick close to hand and if anyone appears to be menacing me or mine… they’ll be on the receiving end !
I used to be in the School Hockey Team and reckon I can still score a few goals 
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Why am I not surprised that dear @Stella has a lethal hockey stick? 
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