864 police reports since the beginning of the year.
You need to let this number sink in.
That means more than four actions per day. Day in, day out. Week after week. Month after month. Police cars, checkpoints, arrests, raids, flashing lights, press releases, success stories. A tremendous effort, paid for by taxpayers, supported by politicians who show determination at every opportunity.
And yet shots are still fired in Nantes.
People are still dying.
Drug trafficking is still thriving.
Something is wrong.
Perhaps those responsible should have the courage to ask the obvious question: What exactly has changed?
61 kilograms of drugs seized. Hundreds of arrests. Weapons confiscated. Bans issued. Cases closed.
That sounds impressive. Almost as if it were a trailer for an action movie.
But while the statistics increase, the dealers seem remarkably calm. Apparently, they have a special skill: they disappear for a while, wait out the next police checkpoint, and then just carry on as before.
You would almost think that the criminals are already a step ahead of the authorities.
Or two.
Or ten.
Because if, after hundreds of actions, people are still being shot dead on the streets, then it is no longer just a security problem. Then we are talking about a system that is deeply rooted in certain neighborhoods. About parallel worlds that pay little attention to press conferences and strong announcements.
The truth is unpleasant.
You can eliminate one deal spot.
You can eliminate ten deal spots.
You can eliminate a hundred deal spots.
But as long as the networks behind them continue to exist, it’s like trying to extinguish a forest fire with a glass of water.
Of course the police are needed. Of course dealers must be prosecuted and weapons seized. No one is asking for the opposite.
But if the same problems return year after year, if the violence even increases, then it is no longer enough to just read out the same figures and hope for the next big operation.
The residents of Nantes have a right to honesty.
They have a right to an explanation as to why, despite hundreds of operations, the shootings do not disappear.
They have a right to know why entire districts are still suffering under the rule of criminal groups.
And they have a right to expect more than statistics.
Because at some point every success balance loses its shine.
At the moment the bullets keep flying.
864 operations later, the situation does not look like a victory for the state.
But like evidence that the state is fighting a problem it has not really controlled until now.
That is the real message behind this number.
And that is precisely why it should reassure no one.
A commentary by Andreas M. Brucker