Sofa bases, old strollers, dilapidated bicycles, barbed wire, improvised braziers, abandoned household appliances… In Rennes, particularly in the southern districts, the barricades set up by drug dealers are more and more numerous. Two sectors are particularly concerned: the Square de Serbia, located in Blosne, and the surroundings of the Maison de Sweden in Bréquigny. There, the small driveways are more and more often cut off by barricades. Objective: to slow down the progress of the police and control the comings and goings of everyone.
“For more than six months, the situation has been deteriorating,” says a police officer. “There is more and more trash, things thrown away,” explains an employee of the cleaning service. Blessed bread for the dealers who recover everything that the population gets rid of. The voluntary waste drop-off points become a recycling center to supply the barricades.
The city in “reflection”
“Installed continuously, these roadblocks create a disturbance to public order and give the impression that drug dealers have taken control of the neighborhood,” says a police officer. The dealers thus allow themselves to control the movements of local residents but also those of the police or emergency services. We would like a light road team to be able to intervene quickly in these situations, under the protection of the police crew who would therefore remain on the scene while awaiting their intervention. »
For its part, the City of Rennes explains that it involves the private company Théaud once a week to clear away bulky items. “We need more responsiveness,” say the police. A reflection is underway in the City services to take into account the request of the police services. “It’s a little more complicated than that,” whispers a municipal source. Because we have the cleaning activity, the waste activity and bulky items… In addition, the budgetary context is tense. »
