France has officially declared war on drug trafficking and organized crime, a scourge that in recent months has spread with unprecedented virulence and violence to the outskirts of many cities. It was the scenario chosen by the Ministers of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, and Justice, Didier Migaud, to present a special plan against what the head of French security called a few days ago the “Mexicanization” of France. Both announced the creation of a position of liaison magistrate in Bogotá (Colombia) and the reform of the repentant regime through the figure of the collaborator with justice, who will enjoy greater protections and guarantees. It is not the first time that France promises to end the problems in the Mediterranean city (1.5 million inhabitants, including the metropolitan area, the second largest city in the country).
The situation has reached unprecedented levels even by the crime standards of some French cities. Marseille, always marked by this type of crime, witnessed just a month ago the murder of a minor who was stabbed more than 30 times and then burned while he was still alive in a metal drum. The homicide was a turning point in the fight against this phenomenon, but after that the trickle of murders and machine gunning continued. One of them occurred against the door of a police station in Cavaillon, 50 kilometers from Marseille. The DZ Mafia, the organization that controls drug trafficking in the Phocaean city, set fire to the police station and four of the vehicles that were parked at the gate in retaliation for an operation in which the agents had seized the gang drug.
The ministers wanted to convey a message of extreme firmness in this fight, evoking a battle comparable to that waged against terrorism. Migaud stressed that drug trafficking is “an existential threat against institutions, against democracy” and that “it threatens the fundamental interests of the nation.” For this reason, he said that action against drug trafficking is “a national cause” that “will take years.” It is a fight “probably lasting 10, 15 or 20 years,” but “it can be won,” he said. “My hand will not tremble to mobilize the entire judicial apparatus,” he stressed before pointing out that the Paris Prosecutor’s Office teams dedicated to organized crime will be reinforced with 40% more personnel and that four more judge positions will be created in the capital to speed up the processes.
France looks in the mirror of Italy and wants to treat this issue like the question of terrorism or the mafia in the transalpine country. To this end, Migaud spoke of the creation of a special prosecutor’s office for these crimes and of a new regime for the figure of the repentant, a system that saw the light of day in Italy in the bloodiest period of Cosa Nostra and that allowed legends of the magistracy, like Giovanni Falcone, put the Sicilian criminal organization in check. Only through the testimony of those who decide to collaborate with justice was it possible to make progress in the dismantling of these organizations.
42 murders in six months
Cities with gang and drug trafficking problems spread throughout the hexagon. From Grenoble, to Poitiers, passing through Lyon or Paris itself. In the first half of the year, 42 deaths were recorded due to murders linked to drug trafficking. But . After the 49 deaths from firearms in 2023, a record number, the counter this year stands at 19 deaths to date. The city’s attorney general, Nicolas Bessone, intervened a few weeks ago in the public debate and described the latest crimes as “unprecedented savagery.” The magistrate, author of the term “narcomicide” to talk about the murders in Marseille, he put the number of drug points in the city at 128 and spoke of a “total loss of references.” The new plan plans to appoint 25 additional investigators and reinforce the police presence on public roads with 95 additional officers.
The Minister of the Interior presented, for his part, other measures that the Executive intends to carry out, such as authorizing prefects to decree the closure of businesses suspected of being used to launder drug money, requiring justification of the origin of the money for the purchase. of vehicles or a mechanism for quickly freezing criminals’ assets.
The problem is that this is not the first time that France has looked to Marseille to combat this phenomenon without obtaining too many results. Three years ago, the President of the Republic himself, Emmanuel Macron, and rehabilitation to return normality through an investment of 1.5 billion euros. Today, many of these projects, the associations denounce, have not been executed.
