How France’s “mexicanization” affects women

The increase in violence linked to criminal groups and drug trafficking continues to increase in France. Women are increasingly affected.Image: AFP / Imago / Keystone, montage watson

The death of a bride in Provence highlights the increase in collateral female victims of drugs related to drugs in France. Female associations denounce the inaction of the government.

Stefan Brändle / CH Media

A week ago, in the picturesque village of Goult, nestled in the heart of the Luberon, famous for his enchanting landscapes, a wedding party was full until late. But the celebration was brutally interrupted by the arrival of killers.

Around 4:30 am, while the guests started to leave, four masked and heavily armed men arrived by car and opened fire. The bride, already installed in a car, was touched by a ball in the head and died instantly.

Her husband, supposed to belong to a Moroccan drug trafficking network, as well as their 13 -year -old daughter, were shot in bullets. The husband retaliated, killing one of the attackers. The other three fled, and two of them were arrested later after a helicopter manhunt.

Crime scene in the south of France: in Vaucluse, masked individuals opened fire on a wedding party, and killed the bride.Image: Gabriel Bouys / AFP

France was shocked by this attack worthy of a gangster film. The television teams arrived on the spot told how, after the attackers’ flight, a woman exclaimed in freezing silence:

Despite all the tragedy, we almost forgot that it was not the first time that a woman was the victim of the violent conflicts related to drug trafficking in France. In February, in Corsica, a student had been killed by several bullets in her boyfriend’s car, himself linked to the mafia world of the Mediterranean island.

In Marseille, a 43 -year -old woman was less lucky: she was shot in unlimited circumstances, near a hot point of drug trafficking in one of the sadly famous northern districts of the port city. In June, Kalashnikovs armed shooters targeted an individual house in Montélimar, in the Rhône valley, injuring a woman. Investigators suspect a vendetta or an intimidation attempt by rival traffickers.

A number up

The police confirmed: since the beginning of the year, more and more women, whether they have come from immigration or not, have become the targets of dealers and mafia clans in France. If a “lost ball” can sometimes be involved, it is only exceptional.

In gangs, there are more and more women dealers, often constrained. The Marseille prosecutor, Nicolas Bessone, recently revealed that many women were forced to serve as a “nurse”, a term of the environment designating those hiding from South American or Moroccan cocaine at home. Others, on the other hand, move points of sale squarely.

Feminists believe that these cases remain marginal and claim that it is above all women who suffer from the ravages of trafficking and drug use, especially since these are often accompanied by extreme domestic violence. Many of dealers companions are also used by rival gangs as a means of pressure, act of revenge or humiliation.

Associations go up to the niche

Caroline de Haas, founder of Tétoutes, a collective against violence against women, accuses the Minister of the Interior, Bruno Rétailau, of treating violence of criminal circles against women as simple isolated news. Although the conservative minister forcefully denounces the “mexicanization” of mores in France, the police are widely exceeded by the extent of violence linked to drug trafficking.

Local authorities react with more determination. In Marseille, female associations have succeeded, thanks to a law of 2021 still little applied, to have the villa of a cocaine dealer stopped. This has been transformed into a refuge for women victims of violence.

Translated and adapted by Noëline Flippe

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