No part of France is free of drugs, anti-narcotic agency warns

France has become a country with no area free of drugs, according to a report by the country’s anti-narcotics office OFAST, raising concerns about the scale of cocaine trafficking and its grip on French society.

Described as a “white tsunami” by French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, the report warns of an explosive rise in cocaine availability, calling it an “existential threat” and a form of “counter-culture” driven by violence and impunity, FranceInfo reported.

In just the first six months of 2025, authorities seized 37.5 tonnes of cocaine, up 45% from the same period in 2024, a record high. According to OFAST, this is a sign of how deeply entrenched drug trafficking has become across the country.

In 2024 alone, 367 murders or attempted murders linked to drug-related violence were recorded in 173 cities.

“Taking control of neighbourhoods fuels everyday crime, normalises violence and illegal money as part of a growing counter-culture, and seriously damages efforts to improve cities and help people integrate into society,” the report stated.

The report also highlighted how some trafficking networks have gone beyond criminal activity and begun to exert social control in communities.

In one example from Bagnols-sur-Cèze in southern France, residents received letters offering help with groceries or home repairs in exchange for tolerating drug dealing in their neighbourhood.

In some areas, drug lords have even overruled local authority, acting as de facto rulers in their neighbourhoods.

One such case involved Marseille’s DZ Mafia, a gang that released a video last year featuring masked men, white sheets and weapons raised in the air, an echo of nationalist paramilitary groups.

OFAST said the group aimed to undermine public institutions, pointing to recent attacks on prisons and prison officers’ homes.

The report also outlined a pyramid structure within the drug trade. While around 200,000 people are believed to profit in some way from the drug economy, a handful of top-level traffickers dominate drug imports into France, often operating from abroad.

These individuals, according to OFAST, have built direct links to South American cartels, working so closely that they have effectively formed what resembles a “French cocaine cartel”.

Beneath them are “middle-tier” distributors, followed by street-level dealers operating not only at France’s 2,700 known dealing points, but increasingly via delivery systems or even Airbnb-style setups that let customers discreetly collect their drugs from rented apartments.

In March, France's Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin announced he had "decided to strike hard" against the most dangerous drug traffickers in the country, pledging to imprison 200 of them in two high-security prisons by 15 October.

The minister, who has made tackling the drugs trade a top priority since assuming the role in December, said the facilities would be renovated to make them "completely hermetic".