A "white tsunami" of drugs has hit France in recent months, in the words of Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, according to the report State of the drug-related threat, a restricted distribution document prepared by the Anti-Narcotics Office (Ofast), accessed by Le Monde.
Cocaine seizures doubled in a year and reached 54 tons in 2024 (compared to 23 in 2023). Violent incidents, homicides, and attempted homicides linked to drug trafficking spread to 173 cities. Drugs enter the country through all borders and from all possible sources: from Peru to Thailand, passing through the Caribbean or the Balkans.
Retailleau himself warns of the risk of "Mexicanization" of southern France and considers drug trafficking as "an existential threat to our country", responsible for the recent wave of riots in French cities, as well as the fires and incidents that spread in prisons last April.
"Record seizure levels reflect the wide availability of narcotics in our country, posing a growing threat with significant consequences for the security and health of our citizens," warns Ofast's deputy director, Christian de Rocquigny, in statements to Le Monde. "Today it is an asymmetric struggle, with the Police and judicial services overwhelmed by criminals."
"Illegal trafficking organizations are richer, more violent, and more agile than ever; they exploit all vulnerabilities of French society and our infrastructures," acknowledges Rocquigny, advocating for more resources and greater specialization to dismantle groups with links to South American cartels, the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta, the Dutch-Moroccan Mocro Maffia, or Albanian and Balkan clans.
The report identifies up to a hundred major drug "importers" moving an estimated 7 billion euros business annually, fueled by the increasing demand for cocaine, with 1.1 million users consuming it at least once a year (3.7 million admit to having consumed it at least once in their lifetime) and over 2,700 "sales points."
Ofast establishes a very direct link between drug trafficking and the deterioration of public safety, with 173 cities across France experiencing homicides or attempted murders linked to drug trafficking. Marseille (with 40 incidents), Grenoble (14), and Toulouse (12) top the statistics, but violence has spread to places as diverse as Dijon or Villeurbanne, on the outskirts of Lyon.
"Laboratories" have emerged in various locations throughout the country, such as the one discovered in 2022 in the heart of Paris's 13th district, where over 20 kilos of cocaine extracted from illegally imported coca paste were seized. The report highlights how France has become a true crossroads for drug trafficking routes, with its 5,500 kilometers of coastline and several entry airports to central Europe.