The invasion of cocaine in Europe by the Iberian route

“White tsunami”

“A white tsunami,” compares French interior minister Bruno Retailleau, concerned about “the existential threat” that this trafficking represents for France.

The “Central French drug trafficking office” estimates that 200,000 people act on drug trafficking in the country, where cocaine seizures reached a record in the first six months of the year: 37.5 tons against 25.8 tons in the first half of 2024, representing an increase of 45%.

Olavo Hamilton explains why the fight against cocaine trafficking is so difficult. “In the 1980s, cocaine trafficking was concentrated in a few cartels, very easy organizations to identify. Today, you have a larger drug trafficking network and this power is very decentralized,” he says. “Sometimes in a state of Brazil you have up to eight factions acting all in drug distribution. It is impossible to combat trafficking from these pulverized organizations in Latin America,” he concludes.

If the number of drugs of drugs of drugs has dropped in French territory to 2,729, compared to 4,034 by the end of 2020, other strategies allow you to drain the goods, including the use of short rental apartments and switches with switches containing drugs.

Price drop, the result of production increase, and easier and more comprehensive delivery by applications also explain record numbers. “Previously, drug trafficking was usually controlled by few families. Today we have a proliferation of drug sales places,” says Marie Jauffet-Roustide, a sociologist at the National Institute for Health and Medical Research.