Molins, who oversaw high-profile investigations of Islamic terrorist attacks on Charlie Hebdo and the Bataclan theater in 2015, said that the issue has become a threat “perhaps more significant than terrorism.”
“It is a peril, a peril in terms of severity that is perhaps even more significant because the terrorist threat, although not the same as it was in 2015, has evolved, it is somewhat different,” he said. “Narcotrafficking is everywhere. You can find it as much in Marseille as in Cantal or Vendée; it’s absolutely everywhere. And it’s something we are struggling greatly to contain, which goes hand in hand with the explosion of drug consumption.”
Last year, French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said that the situation was so serious that drug gang violence in small towns could lead to “narco-enclaves” emerging. He compared the situation to the growing control that drug cartels have in Mexico.
“I can well see, on French territory, enclaves, mini-states, narco-enclaves that are being formed,” he said in November 2024. “Either there is a general mobilization, or there is the Mexicanization of the country.”
Molins said that France is not there yet.
“However, what is certain is that narcotrafficking is taking such a prominent place and has such significant resources that, in reality, it could indeed challenge the very foundations of our society. It could also lead to a significant rise in corruption, particularly among certain public officials,” he said.
The proposed legislation creates a new national anti-organized crime prosecutor’s office that will handle the most serious and complex cases and coordinate with the offices of public prosecutors.
“Our country is now facing a genuine onslaught; the phenomenon affects the entire territory, including medium-sized cities and rural areas,” it stated.
The report further noted that narcotics, including the hardest drugs, are now easily obtained throughout France, either at one of the 3,000 dealing points across the country or through encrypted messaging systems that allow for discreet home deliveries.
The intensification of trafficking in rural areas and mid-sized towns has been accompanied by a “particularly striking and troubling surge in violence, at times exposing citizens to what can only be described as scenes of warfare.”
Colombies said that these gangs are not disorganized or “anarchic.”
“There is a model that is developing—like a franchise—you really have to compare the drug trafficking industry to a large company, a multinational,” he said.
He added that these criminal organizations function much like businesses, with strict hierarchies and systems of punishment for those who break the rules.
“These criminal groups have their own tribunals, their own form of justice,” he said.
Colombies said that certain communities, especially among immigrant populations, are organizing themselves into self-reliant groups that prioritize their interests over those of the state.
