No week or almost no fatal violence linked to drug trafficking in France: 2023 promises to be a record year, with a 57% increase in homicides and attempted homicides, French police announced on Monday.
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The latest example is the death of a father on Saturday night in Dijon, eastern France, who was killed in his bed by shots aimed at a deal point directly below his accommodation.
A “collateral victim” like Fayed, 10 years old, was killed in a shootout linked to the war between drug traffickers in Nîmes, in the south, at the end of August.
Before the Senate Commission of Inquiry into “Drug Trafficking in France”, the Director General of the National Police (DGPN), Frédéric Veaux, announced that “315 homicides and attempted homicides between criminals” had been registered from January 1 to November 13, an increase of 13 57% compared to the same period in 2022.
“We are witnessing an increase in violence linked to drug trafficking,” noted Mr. Veaux, adding that “451 victims” of these acts were counted during this period. “30% are under 20 years old” and this violence extends to “medium-sized cities, almost everywhere in the country,” the number one police officer further emphasized.
In the Bouches-du-Rhône department alone, where Marseille, France’s second largest city, is located, around forty people have been killed this year, including three collateral victims, according to an AFP count.
The drug market in France generates a turnover of 3 billion euros. It represents “21,000 full-time jobs and 240,000 people live directly or indirectly from it,” emphasized the head of the Anti-Drug Office (Ofast) Stéphanie Cherbonnier.
The products are highly profitable for criminal organizations. “Cocaine is bought for 28,000 to 30,000 euros per kilo and resold for 65 to 70 euros per gram,” Ms. Cherbonnier explained, saying that “the threat” posed by this trade is “at an all-time high.”