864 police interventions since the beginning of the year.
We need to take a moment to properly absorb this number.
That means more than four interventions per day. Day after day. Week after week. Month after month. Police cars, checkpoints, arrests, raids, sirens, press releases, success announcements. A colossal commitment, paid for by taxpayers, accompanied by politicians who seize every opportunity to show their determination.
And yet, gunshots continue to ring out in Nantes.
Yet people are dying.
Yet drug trafficking is thriving.
Something is wrong.
Perhaps those responsible should have the courage to ask the obvious question: what has really changed?
61 kilograms of drugs seized. Hundreds of arrests. Weapons confiscated. Stay-away orders issued. Businesses closed.
It sounds impressive. Almost like the trailer for an action movie.
But while the statistics rise, the dealers seem surprisingly calm. It seems they have a remarkable ability: they disappear briefly, wait for the next police intervention, then resume as before.
You could almost believe that criminals are always one step ahead of the authorities.
Or two.
Or ten.
Because if, after hundreds of interventions, people continue to be shot dead in the street, it is no longer just a security problem. We are then talking about a system deeply rooted in certain neighborhoods. Parallel worlds, unimpressed by press conferences and martial announcements.
The truth is uncomfortable.
You can dislodge one point of sale.
You can dislodge ten points of sale.
You can dislodge a hundred points of sale.
But as long as the networks that support them exist, it’s like trying to put out a forest fire with a glass of water.
Of course, the police are necessary. Of course, dealers must be prosecuted and weapons confiscated. No one is asking for the opposite.
But if the same problems return year after year, if the violence even increases, it is no longer enough to repeat the same numbers and hope for the next big operation.
The citizens of Nantes have a right to honesty.
They have the right to know why, despite hundreds of interventions, the shootings do not disappear.
They have the right to know why entire neighborhoods continue to suffer under the control of criminal groups.
And they have the right to hope for more than statistics.
Because at some point, every success report loses its luster.
At the latest when the bullets keep flying.
After 864 interventions, the situation does not look like a victory for the state.
But rather proof that he is struggling with a problem he still does not really control.
That is the true message behind this number.
And that is precisely why it should not reassure anyone.
A comment by Andreas M. Brucker