PARIS (Reuters) – French riot police will go to the southern town of Cavaillon, near Avignon, after the Cavaillon police station was attacked following an anti drug-trafficking operation, said French interior minister Bruno Retailleau on Wednesday.
WHY IT MATTERS:
France and other major European cities are trying to clamp down on drug gangs, and the fatal shootings that often result from inter-gang warfare.
In May, two prison guards were killed after gunmen ambushed a prison van to free drug dealer Mohamed Amra, known as ‘The Fly’, while Belgian authorities have also blamed gangs from Marseille as being partly responsible for a surge in shootings in Brussels.
CONTEXT:
Retailleau is also keen to show that Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s new government is taking a tough approach on violent crime, after Retailleau was appointed as interior minister in September.
KEY QUOTE:
“The French State will not be intimidated and we will intensify our battle against narco-banditism,” said Retailleau in a statement.
(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
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