There have been 864 police operations since the beginning of the year.
Try to savor this number carefully.
This means an average of more than four operations per day. Day after day, week after week, month after month. Police car deployments, checks, arrests, raids, flashing sirens, press conferences, success reports. A huge taxpayer-funded operation accompanied by politicians showing determination at every opportunity.
But even so, gunfire still rings out on the streets of Nantes.
People are still dying.
And drug trafficking is still thriving.
There must be a problem here.
Perhaps those responsible should summon the courage to ask an obvious question: what exactly has changed?
61 kilograms of drugs were seized. Hundreds of people arrested. Weapons confiscated. Bans on entering certain areas issued. Drug dens shut down.
This sounds impressive, almost like a preview of an action movie.
However, as these numbers grow, the drug dealers seem unusually calm. They apparently have an astonishing ability: to disappear briefly and, after the next police check ends, continue their operations as usual.
It almost feels like these criminals are always one step ahead of the authorities.
Even two steps ahead.
Or ten steps ahead.
Because if, after more than a hundred operations, people are still being shot on the streets, then this is no longer just a security issue. It is a systemic problem rooted in certain communities. It is a “parallel world” independent of press conferences and stern statements.
The truth is uncomfortable.
You can temporarily clear one drug spot.
You can clear ten drug spots.
You can clear a hundred drug spots.
But as long as the network behind it still exists, it is like trying to extinguish a forest fire with a glass of water.
The police are of course indispensable, drug dealers must be pursued, weapons must be seized. No one opposes that.
But if the same problems occur year after year, and violence even intensifies, simply repeating the same data and hoping for the next large-scale operation is far from enough.
The citizens of Nantes have the right to honest information.
They have the right to know why gunfights still have not disappeared despite hundreds of operations.
They have the right to understand why entire neighborhoods are still under the control of criminal groups.
They also have the right to expect more than just statistics.
Because one day, no matter how brilliant the report card, it will lose its shine.
Especially when the gunfire continues.
After 864 operations, the situation does not look like a victory for the state.
Rather, it is evidence that the state is still struggling with a problem it has not truly controlled until now.
This is the real message behind this number.
And for this reason, this number should not make anyone feel reassured.
— Commentary by Andreas M. Brucker