The figure for drug trafficking is increasing (slightly) in France. This Sunday, Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin indicated during a trip to a police station in Créteil that in 2023, 36,429 people had been arrested in connection with drug trafficking (with use and without use). In the same Ile-de-France police station, police officers seized 500 kg of cannabis last week.
In 2023, 36,429 people were arrested for trafficking and resale without use, but also with use (consumption) and resale, compared to 36,196 in 2022, which corresponds to an increase of 0.64%, then specified the Ministry of the Interior. Concerning only trafficking with resale without use, 20,101 people were arrested, compared to 19,320 in 2022 (an increase of 4%), detailed the ministry.
A worrying increase in synthetic drugs
Gérald Darmanin was concerned about the sharp increase in the trafficking of synthetic drugs, “more and more of which are arriving on European territory, and in France in particular, amphetamines and ecstasys”. “It’s more than 180% of seizures compared to the year before, there is really a very significant increase in these synthetic drugs and obviously very important work by the gendarmerie and the police to fight against these drugs , not always easy to detect and which give rise to a new European criminal network,” said the minister.
According to figures communicated by the ministry, seizures in 2023 in France were 4.15 million ecstasy and MDMA tablets (compared to 1.4 million in 2022) and 418 kg of amphetamines and methamphetamines (198 kg in 2022).
A future European strategy
“I will go to Antwerp (in Belgium) on Wednesday with my fellow Interior Ministers to be able to establish the new European strategy for the fight against drugs and these synthetic drugs, in particular to prevent Fentanyl from arriving in Europe and particularly in France” , said Gérald Darmanin.
Belgian Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden will launch an “Alliance of European Ports” on Wednesday in the main Flemish city, to which Interior Ministers have been invited.