Los ladrones (1971) is known for its spectacular car chase and Jean-Paul Belmondo's incredible fall from a construction truck down a steep, rocky hillside. The car-chasing scene was shot in real traffic conditions. The Greek administration gave the crew the possibility to manage the traffic lights as they wanted to. According to Rémy Julienne, the Greek police allowed them to drive as fast as needed, but they "shouldn't overdo it."
Set the record for the highest grossing opening week in France. It went on to be the sixth most popular film of the year in France.
It is never actually stated where this film takes place. This may be because Greece, which obviously is the setting, was at the time ruled by a military dictatorship following the coup of 1967 (the dictatorship was overthrown, and democracy restored, in 1974).
Jean-Paul Belmondo wanted to shoot every stunt scenes, but could not shoot the car-chasing scene because he was working in the USA at the time.