Paris - Covid-19 lockdowns sparked a big drop in the number of reported crimes in France last year, except for domestic violence and rape cases which continued to rise, the interior ministry has said.

As a result of "exceptional circumstances" brought on by the coronavirus epidemic, which prompted two lockdowns in 2020 and other restrictions, most crime indicators registered by police "dropped sharply", the ministry's statistics bureau said on January 28.

Rape and domestic violence cases, however, saw a third straight yearly increase, of 11 percent and nine percent respectively, from their 2019 levels.

Cases of sexual violence overall, including rape, increased by three percent, it said.

The ministry said the higher number of reported cases involving violence against women in recent years was as a result of the victims' greater readiness to alert police and post their experiences on social media, encouraged by movements such as "Me Too".

They also credited police for their improved handling of sexual violence cases.

The number of registered cases was, however, still far below the amount of actual assaults, the ministry said.

Cases of domestic violence reached their 2020 peak during the first French lockdown between March and May.

Meanwhile, the number of robberies, armed robberies, break-ins, car thefts, and cases of vandalism all fell by up to 20 percent, the ministry reported.

During the lockdown periods alone, robberies and break-ins even plunged by nearly 60 percent.

Fraud cases were up over the year, but by just one percent, against an 11 percent increase in 2019.