Mixed Results for France's 'Place Nette' Anti-Drug Operations

Despite significant police mobilization, the operations have had limited long-term impact on drug trafficking in targeted areas.

The 'Place Nette' operations, launched by Gérald Darmanin in 2023 to combat drug trafficking, involved over 50,000 police and gendarmes across hundreds of raids in France.
While the operations led to thousands of arrests and the seizure of drugs, weapons, and millions in criminal assets, the quantities of drugs confiscated were minimal compared to the scale of the narcotics trade in France.
In Cholet, six months after a high-profile 'Place Nette' raid, residents report no lasting improvement, with drug trafficking resuming shortly after police withdrew.
A Senate report critiqued the effectiveness of the operations, highlighting the persistence of trafficking networks and questioning the sustainability of the strategy given the resources deployed.
Gérald Darmanin, now Minister of Justice, has proposed extending the 'Place Nette' concept to prisons to address ongoing trafficking facilitated by contraband phones, raising questions about the plan's feasibility.