As violence linked to drug trafficking intensifies in France, a dark picture emerges from the cities where gangs, now nicknamed “narcoracailles”, are plunging the country into a spiral of terror. Shootings, kidnappings and executions are increasing, leaving an indelible mark of extreme violence. Crime is becoming more ferocious, and gangs no longer hesitate to recruit from a very young age, sometimes from the age of 9, offering these children a frighteningly short life.
The figures are chilling: according to the Ministry of the Interior, 182 score-settling cases in the first half of 2024, including homicides and attempted homicides. Among these 182 cases, 42 people lost their lives, an unprecedented outbreak that testifies to the ruthless war between the clans. Last week, a 5-year-old child was targeted in a shooting in Rennes. In Marseille, a 15-year-old teenager, an aspiring hitman, was atrociously murdered, while a VTC driver was executed by a young “sicario” of only 14 years old, for the sum of 50,000 euros. These scenes, which evoke the bloody vendettas of Mexican cartels, plunge France into a climate of unbearable violence.
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Marseille: symbol of a security “fiasco”
In Marseille, a city emblematic of struggles between drug traffickers, 84 homicides linked to drug trafficking have been recorded since the start of the year. The “Marseille en grand” program, launched by Emmanuel Macron with the ambition of “cleaning up” the city, today seems far from its promises. Despite thousands of dismantling operations, the flow of drugs and weapons continues to flood the neighborhoods.
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Faced with this situation, the police are not remaining inactive. Since January, 16,000 dismantling operations have been carried out, and 12,500 suspects placed in police custody. The seizures are impressive: five tonnes of cannabis, more than 200 kg of cocaine, 800 weapons and millions of euros of criminal assets were confiscated. However, the networks seem to reconstitute their forces almost instantly, making police efforts insignificant compared to the scale of drug trafficking.
A Marshall plan to save the territories
Local elected officials, desperate, are sounding the alarm. For Bruno Retailleau and Didier Migaud, the Minister of Justice, the time for a start has come. Next Friday, in Marseille, they will unveil a set of exceptional measures to try to break this macabre dynamic. Some are even calling for a “Marshall Plan” for the French suburbs, believing that only massive interventions will be able to restore security to cities plagued by crime.
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The authorities are facing a major challenge: preventing the districts of Lyon, Nantes or Grenoble from falling into drug violence. “We are at a tipping point,” the Interior Minister declared last Friday. For many, this surge is the last chance to prevent France, plagued by rampant insecurity, from one day becoming like Veracruz or the suburbs of Mexico.
