Police arrest nearly 200 in massive anti-drug operations across France

French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin announced on Monday that more than 187 people had been arrested as part of massive anti-drug operations carried out simultaneously in several cities in France.

Darmanin announced the figure from Roubaix in northern France, where he was visiting on Monday to oversee the government's new anti-drug clean-up initiative – dubbed Place nette XXL.

These operations were focused simulataneously on Lille, Lyon, Dijon and in the Paris region, he said.

"We have a goal of 850 people to be arrested. We are about a quarter of this goal if we count Marseille," he said. "Our goal is to show all residents, and especially those in working-class neighborhoods, that we are taking their security seriously," Darmanin insisted.

He announced that other operations of this type would be carried out "in several other cities in the days and weeks to come".

The operation in Marseille was launched just after President Emmanuel Macron's visit last week.

"It's an unprecedented operation that we have launched, to put a stop to drug trafficking and ensure republican order," said Macron.

Some 900 police, gendarmes and customs officers were dispatched on the first day of the operation in Marseille and the Bouches-du-Rhône department.

Within four days, 22 kilos of drugs had been seized and 71 people taken into custody. Officers said nearly €400,000 in cash or assets had been seized along with four weapons.

Turf war

The turf war for control of lucrative deal-making points in Marseille hit new highs in 2023, with 49 people killed – mostly in drug-related murders – and 123 people injured.

Four of the dead were caught by accident in crossfire and had no link to the drugs trade.

The campaign by the French authorities comes after the alleged leader of a major drug gang from Marseille was arrested in Morocco in February.

Felix Bingui, 33, was detained in Casablanca. He is believed to be the leader of Yoda – one of Marseille's main drug gangs – which has been engaged in a turf war with another major clan known as DZ Mafia.

Tackling the problem is all the more important for French authorities as Marseille prepares to welcome visitors for this summer's Olympic sailing events. Matches for the Olympic football tournament will also take place at the Vélodrome stadium in the city centre.

At the beginning of March, Isabelle Couderc, one of the top judges dealing with organised crime in Marseille, sounded the alarm about the impact drug trafficking.

"I fear that we are losing the war against drug traffickers," said Couderc just before before a Senate committee inquiry into the fight against drug trafficking in France.