Collateral victim of a war between drug traffickers, a 10-year-old child was killed on the night of Monday to Tuesday in Nîmes, in the popular district of Pissevin. Several cities in the south-east of France, including Marseille, Avignon and Nîmes, have been affected for several years by assassinations linked to drug trafficking. For Roger Karoutchi, vice-president of the Senate, senator from Hauts-de-Seine, guest of Europe 1 Morning on Wednesday, “we are in an increasingly violent society”.
“We are in a society where we have freed the forces of evil, in a society where petty criminals have become killers. There is a kind of completely crazy emulation where now the dealer is armed, the head of the dealer walks with Kalashnikovs. We are in an extraordinarily difficult society to manage, “he said at the microphone of Europe 1.
Roger Karoutchi calls for strengthening the ranks of law enforcement
The 10-year-old child was in the back of a vehicle, driven by his uncle, which was targeted around 11:30 p.m. After the first shots, the boy tried to get out of the vehicle but got stuck by the seat belt outside, and was dragged between Avenue des Arts – where the shooting took place – and the CHU de Nîmes . According to information from Europe 1, his uncle, who started quickly after the first shots, thought his nephew had managed to get out of the car. According to a police source, his death was due to his gunshot wound.
Guest of Europe 1 Matin Wednesday, Roger Karoutchi called for strengthening the ranks of the national police and the gendarmerie. “Punch operations are good, but in reality, you need a constant, permanent police presence on the scene of deals, on the scene of excessive delinquency. We have always supported, with Gérald Darmanin, the reinforcement of the forces In our cities, almost all of us have created municipal police, reinforced video protection and we need a larger national police, more present on the ground and on a permanent basis,” he said.
“Drugs have become a massive phenomenon”
Faced with the power of these networks, is the war lost in advance? No, replies the vice-president of the Senate who affirms that many “elements on arms trafficking are foiled by the intelligence services”. “But I recognize that it gives an absolutely hopeless feeling to say to yourself ‘it’s getting worse and worse in our neighborhoods’. Drugs have become a massive phenomenon. I’ve seen kids aged 13-14 already hired, enlisted in drug gangs. It’s a constant struggle,” he concluded.
According to the prosecutor of Nîmes, Cécile Gensac, this case is “related to drug trafficking” and the child killed and his uncle are “undeniably” collateral victims. The prosecutor denounced “a tragedy of the most absolute”. An investigation was opened for “murder in an organized gang”.