864 police interventions since the beginning of the year.
This number needs to sink in.
It means more than four interventions a day. Day after day. Week after week. Month after month. Police patrols, checks, arrests, raids, flashing lights, press releases, announcements of success. A gigantic effort, paid for by taxpayers, accompanied by politicians who show determination at every opportunity.
And yet gunshots continue to be heard in Nantes.
And yet people continue to die.
And yet drug trafficking prospers.
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. Bans imposed. Premises closed.
It sounds impressive. Almost like a trailer for an action movie.
But while the statistics increase, the pushers seem surprisingly calm. Apparently, they have a remarkable ability: to disappear for a short time, wait for the next police check, and then restart as before.
One might almost think that the criminals are always one step ahead of the authorities.
Or two.
Or ten.
Because if after hundreds of interventions there are still people being killed in the streets, it is no longer just a security problem. We are talking about a system that has deeply rooted itself in certain neighborhoods. About parallel realities that are hardly impressed by press conferences and martial announcements.
The truth is uncomfortable.
You can clear a drug dealing spot.
You can clear ten drug dealing spots.
You can clear a hundred drug dealing spots.
But as long as the networks behind them continue to exist, it’s like trying to put out a forest fire with a glass of water.
Of course, the police are needed. Of course, pushers must be prosecuted and weapons confiscated. No one is asking otherwise.
But if the same problems reoccur year after year, if violence even increases, it’s no longer enough to just read the same numbers and hope for the next big intervention.
The citizens of Nantes have a right to honesty.
They have a right to know why, despite hundreds of interventions, the shootings do not disappear.
They have a right to know why entire neighborhoods continue to suffer under the control of criminal groups.
And they have a right to expect more than just simple statistics.
Because at some point every record of success loses its shine.
Especially when bullets keep flying.
After 864 interventions, the situation does not seem to be a victory for the state.
But the proof that the state is fighting a problem that still is not truly under control today.
This is the real message behind this number.
And precisely for this reason, it should not reassure anyone.
A comment by Andreas M. Brucker