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CRIME

French police officer killed in drugs bust was ‘hero in the war on drugs’

French politicians and police unions paid tribute on Thursday to an officer killed during a drugs raid in the southern city of Avignon.

Published: 6 May 2021 12:35 CEST
French police officer killed in drugs bust was 'hero in the war on drugs'
Police at the scene of the drug bust in Avignon, southern France, on May 5th. Photo: CLEMENT MAHOUDEAU / AFP

The 36-year-old officer and father of two was killed on Wednesday evening while investigating a gathering at a spot in central Avignon known for drug-dealing, interior minister Gérald Darmanin said.

On arriving at the scene around 6.30pm the plainclothes officers began to carry out identity checks on those present when a suspect opened fire, a police source told AFP.

The source said the man fired “several times” at the slain officer and that the other officers returned fire but did not manage to apprehend the shooter before he fled on a kick scooter.

Darmanin said that the police and emergency services attempted in vain to save the officer’s life and called it “a terrible tragedy”.

Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin held a press conference at the police station in Avignon. Photo: CLEMENT MAHOUDEAU / AFP

The killing caused shock among the police, who had for months been warning that the drug-related violence that has long afflicted Marseille, a key hub in the trans-Mediterranean marijuana and cocaine trade, had spread to other southern cities such as Avignon, Montpellier and Perpignan.

READ ALSO: The long and winding road towards changing France’s cannabis laws

A police union official said that the officers involved in Wednesday’s operation were in plainclothes but wearing police armbands.

Visiting the scene on Wednesday evening Darmanin eulogised the dead officer as a “soldier”, saying he “died a hero” in what he called a “war” against drug dealers.

Polls show crime being one of the top concerns of voters ahead of next year’s presidential election, in which Emmanuel Macron is expected to seek a second term.

ANALYSIS: Are crime rates really spiralling in France?

The police complain that the state is not doing enough to protect them as they take the fight to drugs syndicates and radical Islamists.

“Today we have to admit that the state is no longer protecting its officers,” Frederic Lagache, a representative of the Alliance police union told AFP on Thursday. 

Eric Ciotti, an MP for the centre-right Les Républicans party, accused the government of “looking the other way” while “France sinks deeper into chaos every day.”

The deputy leader of the left-wing party La France Insoumise (France Unbowed), Adrien Quatennens, said for his part that it was time to reopen the debate about legalising marijuana.

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POLITICS

8 things you never knew about Andorra

The tiny statelet nestled in the Pyrenees mountains that mark the border between France and Spain hit the headlines with its new language requirement for residency permits – but what else is there to know about Andorra?

Published: 26 April 2024 15:11 CEST
8 things you never knew about Andorra

This week, Andorra passed a law setting a minimum Catalan language requirement for foreign residents. 

It’s not often the tiny, independent principality in the mountains makes the news – other than, perhaps, when its national football team loses (again) to a rather larger rival in international qualifying competitions.

The national side are due to play Spain in early June, as part of the larger nation’s warm-up for the Euro 2024 tournament in Germany. Here, then, in case you’re watching that match, at Estadio Nuevo Vivero, are a few facts about Andorra that you can astound your fellow football fans with…

Size matters

Small though it is – it has an area of just 468 square kilometres, a little more than half the size of the greater Paris area – there are five smaller states in Europe, 15 smaller countries in the world by area, and 10 smaller by population.

People

Its population in 2023 was 81,588. That’s fewer people than the city of Pau, in southwest France (which is itself the 65th largest town in France, by population).

High-living

The principality’s capital, Andorra la Vella (population c20,000 – about the same population as Dax) is the highest capital city in Europe, at an elevation of 1,023 metres above sea level. 

Spoken words

The official language – and the one you’ll need for a residency permit – is Catalan. But visitors will find Spanish, Portuguese and French are also commonly spoken, and a fair few people will speak some English, too.

Sport

We’ve already mentioned the football. But Andorra’s main claim to sporting fame is as a renowned winter sports venue. With about 350km of ski runs, across 3,100 hectares of mountainous terrain, it boasts the largest ski area in the Pyrenees.

Economic model

Tourism, the mainstay of the economy, accounts for roughly 80 percent of Andorra’s GDP. More than 10 million tourists visit every year.

It also has no sales tax on most items – which is why you’ll often find a queue at the French border as locals pop into the principality to buy things like alcohol, cigarettes and (bizarrely) washing powder, which are significantly cheaper.

Head of state

Andorra has two heads of state, because history. It’s believed the principality was created by Charlemagne (c748 – 814CE), and was ruled by the count of Urgell up to 988CE, when it was handed over to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Urgell. The principality, as we know it today, was formed by a treaty between the bishop of Urgell and the count of Foix in 1278.

Today, the state is jointly ruled by two co-princes: the bishop of Urgell in Catalonia, Spain and … the president of France, who (despite the French aversion to monarchy and nobility) has the title Prince of Andorra, following the transfer of the count of Foix’s claims to the Crown of France and, subsequently, to the head of state of the French Republic. 

Military, of sorts

Andorra does have a small, mostly ceremonial army. But all able-bodied Andorran men aged between 21 and 60 are obliged to respond to emergency situations, including natural disasters.

Legally, a rifle should be kept and maintained in every Andorran household – though the same law also states that the police will supply a firearm if one is required.

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