REPORTAGE – In one month, seven shootings against a backdrop of drug trafficking have taken place in the former capital of Dauphiné. Called in as reinforcements to bring the fever down, 25 police officers from the new units specializing in urban violence occupy the field every evening.
Grenoble
One behind the other, four gray vans, emblazoned with the words “Police nationale” are driving down a wide avenue in the town of Échirolles, in the southern suburbs of Grenoble. It is a little after 11 p.m. on this Monday when school starts again and the street lamps along the streets only illuminate empty sidewalks. The procession advances silently, its flashing lights off, then everything speeds up as it approaches the Carrare building, one of the city’s main drug dealing spots. One of the vans turns sharply left. Two others stop a few meters further on and several police officers jump out of the vehicles, while shouts ring out in the neighborhood. “These are the “choufs”, they announce our arrival”explains Commander Éric Davoine, pointing with his chin at a man on a scooter who is speeding away. “When we deploy on the ground, the goal is to have a group effect, to create surprise. But in general, we are quickly…
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