Christophe Bordet, edited by Ugo Pascolo 5:22 p.m., April 2, 2024, modified at 5:23 p.m., April 2, 2024
A few hours after the launch of an "XXL clear cut" operation against drug trafficking in his city, the mayor of Toulouse, Jean-Luc Moudenc, deplored "one-off operations under the eye of the cameras". On Europe 1, he calls for the establishment of a “major national plan to combat drug trafficking”.
After Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Lille, it is the turn of Strasbourg, Nantes and Toulouse. This Tuesday, the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, announced the launch of an anti-drug operation “XXL square” in three new cities on social networks. A system which is intended to be similar to that launched in Marseille on March 19 and which was then extended to several French cities. But for the mayor of Toulouse, Jean-Luc Moudenc, this XXL net operation lacks scale.
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Since this Tuesday morning, the XXL square net operation against drug trafficking has been underway in several neighborhoods of the pink city, are you satisfied?
Jean-Luc Moudenc: Anything that allows us to fight against drug trafficking in Toulouse and elsewhere is a good thing, unfortunately it is not through one-off operations under the eye of the cameras that we are going to eradicate this cancer which is spreading like metastases in our cities.
What should be done?
With my fellow mayors of major cities in France, I am asking the government and therefore Gérald Darmanin to put in place a major national plan to combat drug trafficking, which is not the case at the moment. We need substantive, permanent action on this subject.
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Drug trafficking, the number one problem in France’s fourth city
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How could this plan that you are calling for be translated into practice?
First, the national police and the municipal police must work not side by side, but hand in hand. The municipal police do not have the powers to act on drug trafficking directly, however, they have knowledge of the area, the drug dealing points, and the residents. I think that if we cross-reference the information from the two police forces, we will be able to establish a much more detailed diagnosis, in order to determine continued actions against the traffickers.
The national police in our large cities must also be staffed much more significantly than today. The reason for this request from mayors is very simple. Investigators are needed to carry out lengthy investigations in order to dismantle networks that are often very well organized, with ramifications abroad. This work requires women, men and time.
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Is drug trafficking your primary concern in Toulouse?
Absolutely, this is the number one problem in the fourth largest city in France. Drug trafficking causes significant problems of insecurity, banditry, etc. And the phenomenon continues to get worse. A few years ago, the deal points were clearly identified, we knew where they were, how many there were... This is no longer the case. Today, all neighborhoods are affected. Faced with this change, we need strong action from the State. It is a fight that we must fight.
After the German decision to legalize cannabis under certain conditions, the mayor of Strasbourg wants to experiment with an equivalent measure. Is she right while at the same time, Gérald Darmanin is leading this fight against drug trafficking?
I am totally opposed to this idea. The consequences would be deleterious and uncontrollable. It's no !