France's government vows crackdown on drug-related violence after boy dies in shootout
The French government is vowing to crackdown on drug-related violence after a number of high profile incidents this year.
A spate of gangland killings in France has brought the country to a "tipping point", a senior government minister says, with drug-related violence spreading to previously unaffected towns and cities.
There has been outrage in the nation following a gangland shootout in the city of Poitiers, south-west of Paris, that left one teenage boy dead and four others injured.
Here's what happened, and why it may have dramatic political repercussions.
Boy dies after gangland shootout, 60-person brawl
On Friday, a wave of recent violence culminated in a shooting outside a restaurant in Poitliers, leaving a 15-year-old boy in a critical condition with a gunshot wound to his head.
He later died in hospital.
Four other teenagers were also wounded, and police said they found 10 bullet casings at the scene.
One eyewitness told local news channel BFMTV there were "hundreds of people" in the area involved in the brawl, although authorities later said they believed up to 60 people were engaged in fighting.
French newsagency AFP said increasingly violent gangland turf wars had "raised alarm nationwide".
The spread of France's 'web of corruption'
The Mediterranean city of Marseille has long been considered the epicentre of gangland violence and the drug trade in France.
In that city alone, 49 people were killed last year in so-called "narchomicides", or drug-related killings.
But violence has now spread to other cities, fuelled by a drug-trafficking trade estimated to be worth 3 to 6 billion euros ($5 billion to $10 billion).
In recent weeks, a man was shot in the head in the city of Valence and a five-year child was struck by two bullets during a car chase in Rennes.
In May, a crime figure known as "The Fly" escaped jail after the prison convoy he was being transported in was daringly intercepted.
Heavily armed fighters killed two prison guards and wounded three more, and the escapee, Mohamed Amra, is still on the run.
Gang violence could 'threaten our sovereignty'
These incidents have sparked alarm from French interior minister Bruno Retailleau.
"On French territory I see enclaves, micro-states, drug enclaves that are forming," he said.
"I see in the reports that I receive the web of corruption that goes as far as to threaten our sovereignty."
"The 'narco thugs' have no limits any more … These shootouts aren't happening in South America, they're happening in Rennes, in Poitiers," Mr Retailleu said.
"We're at a tipping point."
He said the country faced either "full mobilisation" or drug-fuelled gangland violence similar to that experienced in Mexico.
Concerns over violence push France to the right
For some French people who remember last year's riots following the fatal police shooting of 17-year-old boy Nahel Merzouk, the prospect of a crackdown on street violence may evoke some concern.
Marine Le Pen's far-right party is running on a platform of cracking down on crime and halting immigration.
But France's new centre-right government has vowed tougher action against illegal immigration and drug gangs.
There is also a political aspect to the urgency.
In recent years, concerns over violent crime have helped fuel support for far-right parties, in particular Marine Le Pen's National Rally (RN).
Recent elections resulted in a hung parliament, with RN becoming one of the largest parties.
ABC/Reuters/AP
By:ABC(责任编辑:admin)
下一篇:Flood-affected Valencia locals throw mud at Spain's King Felipe VI
- Socceroos rescue a point
- Wallabies thrash Wales 52
- Jake Paul beats Mike Tyso
- Live updates: England vs
- US election 2024: Donald
- US election live: Kamala
- ·North Korea's latest weapon agains
- ·Hezbollah says Israel 'cannot impo
- ·Inside the rise of US oligarchs and how
- ·Thailand's worst suspected serial
- ·Tabi shoes are turning heads from Holly
- ·FBI arrests Florida man planning attack
- ·Illegal immigrant gets life sentence fo
- ·Bibles, water, watches and sneakers: Do
- ·North Korea's latest weapon against
- ·Hezbollah says Israel 'cannot impose
- ·Inside the rise of US oligarchs and how i
- ·Thailand's worst suspected serial ki
- ·Tabi shoes are turning heads from Hollywo
- ·FBI arrests Florida man planning attack o
- ·Illegal immigrant gets life sentence for
- ·Bibles, water, watches and sneakers: Dona
- ·US to give Kyiv anti-personnel landmines
- ·An arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu
- ·One of Vietnam's high-profile politi
- ·Shanghai Walmart Attack: A Man Randomly S
- ·South Korean police officers jailed over
- ·Cambodia publicly shames maid deported af
- ·North Korea to use all forces including n
- ·Philippines condemns China attack of Viet
- ·US adds 2 more Chinese companies to Uyghu
- ·North Korean defector steals South Korean
- ·Malaysia deports Cambodian worker for cal
- ·Rebels battle for Myanmar junta’s weste