France’s Defense Minister Demands ‘Step Change’ in War on Drugs
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu demanded a major escalation against organized crime, rejecting initial proposals as insufficient at the first interministerial anti-drug trafficking meeting.
According to Valeurs Actuelles, Lecornu convened the high-level meeting on Friday, May 29, calling for what he described as a fundamental shift in how authorities tackle narcotic trafficking operations. The Prime Minister made clear that incremental measures would no longer suffice against criminal organizations whose scope and influence have dramatically evolved.
The committee brought together multiple government departments in recognition that organized crime now extends well beyond the purview of interior security and justice ministries alone. Sources close to the Prime Minister indicated that criminal activity has undergone a transformation in both character and scale, necessitating a correspondingly broader state response.
Lecornu rejected initial proposals presented at the meeting as overly technical and inadequate to the challenge at hand. The Prime Minister’s office confirmed he judged the preliminary recommendations too limited in scope, insisting that a more ambitious approach was required. He emphasized that the Matignon office itself must take direct involvement in coordinating the government’s strategy.
The meeting underscored a recognition within the executive branch that Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez and Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin cannot be expected to shoulder the anti-trafficking fight alone. Prime ministerial sources stressed this was not a rebuke of the two ministers, but rather an acknowledgment that the problem has outgrown the capacity of any single ministry to address effectively.
The interministerial approach aims to mobilize multiple government agencies against criminal networks whose influence now encompasses challenges beyond purely police and judicial matters. The executive branch is seeking to expand coordination across administrations to match the evolving threat posed by sophisticated trafficking operations.
The committee represents what French authorities are positioning as a new phase in state action against organized crime, with senior government leadership taking direct command of strategy formulation and implementation.
With information from Valeurs Actuelles
