Ministers to spearhead 'relentless war' on France's spiralling drug trade

RFI

8 November 2024 at 2:06 am·1-min read

Intensified efforts are underway in Marseille as authorities confront escalating drug trafficking and gang violence in the region.

France's interior and justice ministers were headed to Marseille on Friday to spearhead the government's response to a spiralling drug crisis that has fuelled gang violence across the country.

The illicit drug trade, now estimated to generate between €3.5 and €6 billion annually, has provoked brutal turf wars between rival criminal networks.

In Marseille, where gang score-settling has been particularly deadly, authorities are alarmed by the growing involvement of teenage hitmen as young as 14.

"The state is losing its grip. It’s only a matter of days before someone within the justice chain is abducted or killed," a lawyer specialising in drug-related cases told the French press agency AFP.

Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau and Justice Minister Didier Migaud have been tasked by the prime minister with delivering "clear directives for immediate mobilisation and increased resources", French daily Le Figaro reported.

Retailleau has vowed a "long and relentless war" on drug trafficking, with new legislation expected in early 2025, addressing what he describes as the "Mexicanisation" of France.

He wants the government to take up, and strengthen, the proposals of a Senate inquiry into the impact of narcotics.

Retailleau’s commitment to tougher measures has not been without criticism.

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