Marseille shootings: what if Europe was part of the solution?

Marseille, 27th Mai 2023 – 21 deaths. This is the grim toll of the shootings that have taken place in Marseille since the start of the year. First and foremost, we are deeply saddened by the loss of these lives, we are thinking of their children and we wish to pay tribute to all the victims of trafficking and organised crime..

Contemporary problems know no borders

At Volt Europa we believe that our contemporary problems know no borders. This is true when it comes to the climate, Covid, growing inequalities and migratory crises, and it is obviously also true when it comes to trafficking and organised crime. The networks that strike in Marseille organise their logistical chains partly in our Spanish and Italian neighbours and develop their ramifications internationally.

In this context, what chance do promises of "all-out war" against traffickers or calls for the army to intervene in Marseille's neighbourhoods have of leading to a real de-escalation of the violence? While cracking down on traffickers is imperative, it cannot be confined to the local level, as this would run the risk of hitting only the "small hands". If we are to get to the root of the problem, the fight against trafficking must target the multinationals involved in crime, and to do that we must be backed by a strong political will for European and international cooperation. We will not be able to defeat these organisations without a concerted approach at European level, as Europol demonstrated last November when it organised an international operation that led to the arrest of 44 suspected members of a criminal network considered to be one of the most dangerous in the European Union.

Making Europol a genuine police force for cross-border crime 

At Volt Europa, we want to strengthen Europol to make it a genuine European police force for cross-border crime, focusing on the fight against organised crime, money laundering, human trafficking and corruption. Like the American FBI, Europol's regional offices should have executive autonomy to act directly on the territory of the Member States.

Building a social and societal response

Volt Europa also takes an integrated approach to solving the problem of trafficking: the solution lies in an approach that combines police and criminal law enforcement with broader societal measures.

With regard to drug trafficking, Volt defends in particular :

• Local support for community policing brigades to repair the link between the police and local residents, as Quebec and Belgium have been doing for several years. Recent experiments in France, in Angoulême and Soyaux for example, are encouraging and should lead us to encourage and develop this approach.
• Controlled legalisation of cannabis, as practised in Quebec and Switzerland and about to be introduced in Germany, in coordination with our European neighbours (a necessity in view of the Schengen agreements), with the aim of reducing the markets for traffickers. This legalisation would go hand in hand with a ban on advertising and the reinvestment of tax resources in preventing the risks associated with drug use.

There are examples of good practice both in Europe (Portugal, Switzerland) and in North America (Canada, Colorado), so what are we waiting for?

Sources

• Libération - Fusillade A Marseille, six blessés dans une nouvelle fusillade, les autorités déplorent une «logique de la vendetta», Mars 2023 (lien)
• Crim'Halt - Réflexions citoyennes sur la grande criminalité (lien)
• Radio France - Les ramifications marseillaises du crime organisé nigérian, Mars 2023 (lien)
• Radio France - Lutte contre le trafic de drogue : une guerre sans fin ? Août 2021 (lien)
• La Provence - Samia Ghali : "Si des gens veulent tirer dans les cités, il faut des militaires pour riposter, avril 2023 (lien)
• Ouest France - Europol porte un coup à l’un des réseaux criminels les plus dangereux d’Europe, novembre 2022 (lien)
• The Conversation, Police de proximité, mode d’emploi, août, 2017 (lien)
• Libération Question de campagne La proximité peut-elle réparer le lien entre la police et la population?, mars 2022 (lien)
• Radio France - Encadrement du cannabis : de quel modèle s’inspirer ?, janvier 2023 (lien)

About Volt

As the first truly pan-European party, Volt is committed to reforming the European Union and responding to today's challenges in a coordinated way at European level. Volt's vision: a progressive Europe with an inclusive society, a climate-friendly economy, an adaptable education system and self-determined digitalisation.

Volt is convinced that only the democratic participation of all European citizens will prepare us for a sustainable, economically strong and socially just future. This is why Volt acts at all levels - from local to European, as a movement and as a party. The movement gives everyone a voice and the opportunity to engage politically from within society. Today, Volt is present all over Europe: thousands of people of all ages and professions are involved in 30 European countries with teams in hundreds of cities.

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Contact

Vincent Baissat-Szlingier - Responsable Communication
Mail : vincent.baissat-szlingier@volteuropa.org

Valérie Chartrain - Responsible External relations
Mail : valerie.chartrain@volteuropa.org

Updated Mai 22nd, 2023. Photo de Wikipedia, Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.