The Minister of Justice closes the door to increased penalties for consumers, citing “prison overcrowding”. Didier Migaud is expected to unveil the details of two new texts against drug trafficking this Friday, November 8 in Marseille with Bruno Retailleau.
An end of inadmissibility. Didier Migaud has clearly distanced himself from the proposal of the National Rally (RN) deputy, Jean-Philippe Tanguy, to create “short prison sentences” for drug users.
“From the moment you have short sentences that are carried out, you have to be able to find the places where you lock people up. We are in a situation of prison overcrowding,” ruled the Minister of Justice this Tuesday, November 5 on France info .
“We have 5 million consumers in our country. I am in favor of information campaigns to inform people of the health dangers of drugs,” said the Minister of Justice on France Info.
“Mexicanization” of France
Shooting followed by a fatal brawl in Poitiers last weekend, a child injured by gunfire in Rennes last week, including the death of a teenager by shooting in Ardèche, or that of a VTC driver in Marseille killed in cold blood with a bullet in the neck at the beginning of October…
Several cases directly linked to drug trafficking – the term now used by Bruno Retailleau, the Minister of the Interior to describe the explosion of drug trafficking in France – have taken place in recent weeks.
Dramas which pushed Bruno Retailleau to raise his voice. The Minister of the Interior denounced a “Mexicanization” of France, in reference to Mexico, the hub of drug trafficking to North America, under the aegis of dozens of extremely powerful cartels.
The RN, for its part, defends, through the voice of deputy Jean-Philippe Tanguy, the establishment of short prison sentences so that consumers “finally take responsibility”. Macronist MP Karl Olive for his part pleaded for sending soldiers to certain neighborhoods affected by drug trafficking to cause a “real electric shock in the country”.
Towards the deployment of two new laws
To fight against the networks, Bruno Retailleau is currently preparing two laws, one creating “specialized jurisdictions and prosecutions against organized crime” and a second on “the status of repentants to break the law of silence”.
So far rather discreet, Didier Migaud, who will be jointly in charge of these files with Bruno Retailleau, should speak at length on these files on Friday in Marseille during a joint visit.
The last major campaigns in this area date back several years with very limited effectiveness, according to a former director of the French Drug Observatory, as reported by France Info.
Fines for low-paid consumers
In the event of an inspection by the police or gendarmerie, a consumer caught in the act or in possession of small quantities is more often sentenced to a fixed fine imposed outside of a trial. It is 200 euros and can drop to 150 euros if paid within 15 days.
The only cases where drug use is the subject of a procedure before the court: the case where a user contests his fine, the possession of a significant quantity of drugs or of a type of drug assimilated to hard drugs or even a criminal record.
Only 35% of fines are currently paid. Emmanuel Macron had promised in June 2023 to be able to pay them immediately in cash or by credit card. Although the police and gendarmes have been equipped with payment terminals, the measure is still not applied.
La France insoumise, for its part, defends the legalization of cannabis just like Raphaël Glucksmann (Place publique) who signed a column in this direction in 2019.
Former socialist president François Hollande judged this Monday evening on BFMTV that “the proposal to legalize cannabis would in no way lead to a drop in trafficking”.
