Gérald Darmanin was visiting Marseille on Thursday -

NICOLAS TUCAT / AFP

  • Gérald Darmanin was visiting Marseille this Thursday to confirm the reinforcement of 300 police officers in the Bouches-du-Rhône in three years.

  • A means according to the Minister of the Interior to "harass" drug traffickers in the second city of France, in the grip of significant settling of scores.

  • This speech leaves local elected officials and associative activists from the northern districts doubtful.

A Minister of the Interior who surveys the courtyard of the North division of the departmental direction of public security of Bouches-du-Rhône, and affirms in front of the microphones of journalists who came in large numbers to want to resolve the Marseille problem of drug trafficking.

This scene has played out dozens of times in recent years, and replayed again, this Thursday, in the second largest city in France.

The context, however, is somewhat particular, a few months before the departmental and regional elections, and two months after the surprise dismissal of Emmanuel Barbe, ephemeral police prefect of Bouches-du-Rhône, fired after several hiccups and replaced by the reputed more rigid Frédérique Camilleri.

So, for his first visit to Marseille, Gérald Darmanin donned the costume of the determined and uncompromising minister who will "settle the problems" in terms of settling scores.

Police officers for “harassment of deal points”

New this time, to carry out his mission, the minister slipped into his wallet a multi-year plan of assignment of 300 police officers over three years in the Bouches-du-Rhône.

"There was an understaffed police force in Marseilles, and in particular public security, we are repairing it," he says with satisfaction.

There is not a city in France that knows its staff reinforcements ”.

How many of these police officers will be assigned to Marseille?

When?

For how long ?

Questioned on this subject, Gérald Darmanin was cryptic.

A hundred police officers out of school would be expected imminently in the department.

"Of these hundred additional police officers, 75 will be sent to public security, the harassment of the points of deal, through the excellent results that in particular the Marseilles police force since last year, affirms the minister.

Twenty-five will go into investigation, therefore the judicial police.

"

"A special eye on the northern districts"

Police officers who will be “concentrated on the public highway where there is most of the delinquency, and it is in the northern districts that additional municipal police personnel are needed.

And I am going to ask Madam Prefect to have a particular eye on this point on the northern districts.

"

Measures applauded with caution by the somewhat disillusioned Marseille police.

“Everyone is concretely waiting for the implementation of this plan, confides a union police source.

If we get people out of school so that they can then go to the Paris region in six months, it's not worth it.

"And to predict:" We will experience a development of public delinquency, with collars being torn off as in an era.

When we put pressure on drug trafficking like that, the direct consequence is that the choufs or the other little hands who live off the network will try to find other sources of income.

There is therefore a need for a network throughout Marseille.

"

"The traffickers in the neighborhoods organize the public service"

"To believe that a reinforcement of police force will solve the problem of settling of scores in the districts, it is nonsense, annoys Hassen Hammou, EELV activist of the North districts and founder of the group Too young to die.

It cannot work if the solution is only repressive.

A social response is also needed in these neighborhoods.

There is a flagrant fracture in Marseille, with neighborhoods that feel abandoned, residents who no longer have a public service.

It is true that today, drug traffickers in the neighborhoods organize the public service, and act as big brother.

"

"The Marseillais have had enough of the effects of announcement or blows of communication, tances Yannick Ohanessian, deputy mayor in charge of security.

The minister only makes up for the injustice suffered by Marseille, due to the non-replacement of police officers.

"

A meeting between the minister and the mayor

The passes of weapon between the minister and the town hall of Marseilles multiply since a tackle in due form of Gérald Darmanin on RTL last week of the policy of the Marseillais Spring in terms of video surveillance.

A criticism of the current moratorium that the minister reiterated this Thursday during his visit.

However, in this context of tension, the city of Marseille is one of the rare large French cities not to have yet signed an integrated security contract with the State, a pledge of additional resources allocated by the government on its subjects.

A meeting is scheduled for Friday between the mayor of Marseille Benoît Payan and the Minister of the Interior, during which, according to Yannick Ohanessian, "there will be no taboos".

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  • Marseilles

  • Drug traffic

  • Gerald Darmanin

  • security