France Grapples With ‘Mexicanized’ Narco-Enclaves

A police officer from the BST 14 Brigade, specialised in drug trafficking, stands next to a barricade at the entrance of the Les Rosiers housing project in the northern district of Marseille, southern France, on Dec. 1, 2023. Nicolas Tucat/AFP via Getty Images

A deadly shootout on Nov. 1 in the once-peaceful French town of Poitiers, historically known for its medieval churches, resulted in the death of a 15-year-old boy, shot in the head, left the nation shocked.

But the gunfight, which involved hundreds of people, is just the latest in a wave of drug-related crimes that have transformed cities like Poitiers, Rennes and Marseille into battlegrounds, where even children are caught in the crossfire—shot, stabbed, and burned alive.

French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau warned that the emergence of “narco-enclaves” poses a serious threat to the country.

Jean-Pierre Colombies, a former police commander with 34 years of experience in the criminal and narcotics brigades of the SRPJ in Marseille, told The Epoch Times that the police presence in neighborhoods has steadily diminished over time, allowing such gangs to flourish, spreading their influence across urban and rural areas.

‘Narco-enclaves’

In Poitiers, Retailleau raised alarms about the rise of these “narco-enclaves,” comparing the situation to the growing control drug cartels have in Mexico.

Retailleau said that the country faces two choices: “Either there is a general mobilization, or there is the Mexicanization of the country,” or risk the formation of gang-controlled “enclaves, mini-states, narco-enclaves” on French territory.

France's Minister of the Interior Bruno Retailleau (R), surrounded by journalists, reacts next to a resident during a visit focused on drug trafficking in Rennes, western France, on Nov. 1, 2024. Damien Meyer / AFP via Getty Images

Colombies said that the rise of these criminal groups can be traced to the weakening of France’s law enforcement infrastructure.

He pointed out that the police presence has been steadily reduced over the years.

This decline, he said, began during the presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy, who, in an effort to reduce public spending, cut back on police staffing.

“Sarkozy is the main person responsible for the beginning of the collapse of the police institution. We eliminated a very large number of civil servants without replacing them. When you eliminate what represents authority in a sector, a neighborhood, another power will inevitably step in,” Colombies said.

Senate Report on Drug Trafficking

French senators have warned of a flourishing narcotics industry in France and proposed measures to combat what they say is a threat to national interests.

After six months of investigation, the Senate commission of inquiry reported that the impact of drug trafficking on France has exploded over the past decade.

“Our country is now facing a real inundation; 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 available everywhere, either at one of the 3,000 dealing points across the country or through encrypted messaging systems that allow for discreet home deliveries.

The report said that the “intensification of trafficking in rural areas and mid-sized cities” has been “accompanied by a particularly spectacular and alarming surge in violence, at times subjecting citizens to scenes resembling actual warfare.

Growing Criminal Enterprise

Image of Jean-Pierre Colombies, on Nov. 6 2024. The Epoch Times France

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 added.

Colombies said that certain communities, especially among immigrant populations, are organizing themselves into self-reliant groups that prioritize their own interests over those of the state.

“In France, we have lost the sense of community. But the descendants of successive waves of immigration—whether from the Maghreb or black Africa—have not lost their attachment to their own communities. It starts from defending cultural or sociological interests, but it can also turn into defending criminal interests,” he said.

“As soon as the state no longer plays its role as regulator and sheriff in society, communities will organize among themselves, they will defend themselves,” he added.

Colombies also highlighted the DZ Mafia, a criminal organization from Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône) that has expanded its influence across France, particularly in drug trafficking.

He noted that because these gangs have created a parallel system of governance, involvement in the drug trade can offer a path to upward mobility for young men.

“Trafficking allows those who are part of it to climb the social ladder; it’s very important socially,” he said.

‘Ultra-violence’

Bruno Retailleau and other politicians have called for deeper structural changes to address the issue, but France faces even tougher spending cuts than before, with 60 billion Euros ($65.68 billion) slated for reduction in 2025.

Colombies said that in a Mexicanized situation, “the street is controlled by thugs, it’s a whole social and political system.”

But he said France is not yet a “narco-state.”

However, he argued that the solution requires significantly more funding and resources to prevent gangs even further from spiraling out of control.

He recommended recruiting and training more police officers, expanding prison capacity, and creating specialized detention centers for criminals, similar to measures taken by Italy in its battle against the mafia.

Though to prevent this situation, Colombies warned that “it requires a lot of courage, meaning that when you send police officers against traffickers who are heavily armed, if there are deaths, you will have to support the police services. You will need to be able to handle ultra-violence.”