In total, the customs services have made more than 16,000 findings on narcotics, including cannabis and cocaine.
The government praised the effectiveness of the controls in a particular health context.
More than 60 tonnes of cannabis were seized by French customs in 2020, up 15% from 2019, the government said in a statement on Friday.
The French customs services made a total of 16,215 findings in the field of narcotics in 2020 (+ 1.39%).
In addition to cannabis, customs also seized 9.05 tonnes of cocaine (+ 2.8%) and 1,161 kg of synthetic drugs (+ 56%).
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"These results are all the more significant since they are obtained in a health context that we know. Customs has held firm, redeployed its controls and its staff so as not to leave the field open to criminal networks," said Bruno Le. Mayor, Minister of the Economy, and Olivier Dussopt, Deputy Minister of Public Accounts in the press release.
Cannabis "increasingly cultivated in Europe"
"The importance of the quantities of herbal cannabis in customs seizures is one of the strong trends for 2020", according to this press release.
They represented 62% of the volumes of cannabis seized in 2020 (37% in 2019) against 35% for resin (54% in 2019).
"Herbal cannabis, which is increasingly cultivated in Europe, is prized by drug users who view it as a 'more natural' product. It also has much higher levels of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, psychoactive substance). than a few years ago ", according to this press release.
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"Criminal networks transport narcotics mainly by road (about 90%) for cannabis, by sea for cocaine (about 60%) and by express and postal freight for drugs from synthesis (about 65%) ", it is also indicated.