Europe1.fr with AFP/Photo credits: NICOLAS TUCAT / AFP 12:56 p.m., March 8, 2024
At the microphone of Dimitri Pavlenko, the journalist Denis Trossero, author of "Settling of accounts in Marseille, a history of violence in the Phocaean city" published by Éditions Mareuil, discusses the hearings of Marseille magistrates during the commission of inquiry into the drug trafficking and calls for several measures to stem the phenomenon.
Guest of Europe 1, Denis Trossero, former journalist in the police-justice department of the Marseille daily
La Provence
, publishes
Settlements of accounts in Marseille, a history of violence in the Marseille city
at Éditions Mareuil.
While a parliamentary commission of inquiry visited Marseille this Thursday to assess the extent of drug trafficking in the city, the journalist said he was "surprised" by a summary presented by four magistrates.
He returns in particular to the term “narco-city” which he considers relevant.
"When we delve into the archives and statistics of the Marseille judicial court, we realize that more than 20% of the court's jurisdictional activity is dedicated to cases of combating drug trafficking and settling scores. "Homicides resulting from the settling of scores amount to 49 deaths in the year 2023 compared to 33 deaths for the year 2022. This is an increase of 50%", continues Denis Trossero.
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New measures
The journalist considers it necessary to create specialized jurisdictions for drug trafficking, like the specialized jurisdictions for terrorism.
This measure is requested by certain magistrates.
“That is to say, no longer having drug cases judged by traditional magistrates but by special compositions. They also advocate the use of disciplinary units which could resemble high security units in order to ensure that the traffickers are not in them and continue to organize trafficking from prison,” he explains.
He wants to see a criminalization of drug trafficking which only exists in cases of importation by organized gangs, the reinstallation of police stations in cities or even the improvement of technicality in European ports.
“Only 4% of European ports are equipped with a scanner worthy of the name, capable of detecting the presence of cocaine and hashish in containers,” he explains.
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Like the president of the commission of inquiry, Denis Trossero calls for “a Marshall plan for Marseille”, he concludes.