On Monday, ten people were arrested in Valence as part of a police operation “in connection with the assassinations and openings of fire committed in recent months” in the city, declared Valence prosecutor Laurent de Caigny, without wanting to give details. details until the information is “consolidated”.
Nine people were arrested in an open case, notably for possession of weapons of war and transfer of narcotics, only one as part of an investigation for attempted murder by an organized gang, said the Lyon prosecutor’s office, also competent.
A “large-scale operation against drug traffickers”
On social networks, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin welcomed a “large-scale operation against drug traffickers” which mobilized “around a hundred law enforcement agencies, including the Raid”. This took place in the sensitive district of Fontbarlettes in Valence, where police and CRS reinforcements will remain “as long as the situation requires it”, assured the prefect of Drôme Thierry Devimeux during a press briefing on site. , in the deserted neighborhood cordoned off by the police.
According to France Info, it was “the hard core” of the “Fontbarlettes team” who was arrested. This gang and that of the Plan district have been engaged in a turf war for two years for deal points.
Four deaths between May 9 and 24
Between May 9 and 24, four men were shot and killed amid settling of scores between drug traffickers in Valencia, a city of 65,000 inhabitants marked by high unemployment and poverty rates (more than 17.1%). and 21%, according to INSEE statistics).
Again on Sunday, a young man was shot and injured in broad daylight in the town of Fontbarlettes. “We heard the shots, as usual,” reported a mother who came to pick up her children from school, speaking on condition of anonymity. “It’s every day […] you can catch a stray bullet on the way home,” added this woman who is trying to leave the neighborhood.