PARIS — French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot will urge EU partners to endorse a new “cross-cutting” sanctions regime targeting major actors behind drug trafficking and organised crime.
The proposal, to be presented at the Foreign Affairs Council on Thursday, would apply to individuals and groups outside the EU funnelling illicit trade into Europe, with measures such as asset freezes and EU-wide travel bans. It would also cover arms trafficking, migrant smuggling and environmental crime.
Barrot recently toured Latin America, warning that narcotics flows into Europe are “exploding” and pushing for a regional training academy in the Dominican Republic to bolster law-enforcement capacity.
The move follows a wave of drug-linked killings in France, including the 13 November murder of the brother of Marseille anti-drugs activist Amine Kessaci — a “tipping point”, according to Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu told MPs the fight against drug networks should draw on France’s counter-terrorism playbook.
President Emmanuel Macron, meeting ministers and police chiefs on Thursday, called for full implementation of June’s anti-narcotics law, which includes a new specialised prosecutor’s office opening on 1 January.
France recorded 110 deaths and 341 injuries from drug-related violence last year.
(cs)