The "rents" demanded by racketeers fluctuated between 1,500 and 5,000 euros per month.
Two families of the city of 4000-Sud in La Courneuve (Seine-Saint-Denis) had for three years the merchants of the district in regulated section.
Twelve people from these families, already known for drug trafficking, have been arrested since the beginning of the week after a careful investigation by the city police station.
Every month, a ransom went to raise the sums.
He made no distinction: butcher, grocery, fast food, everything was a source of profit.
"No merchant escaped it", specifies a police source.
And woe to the one who balked.
At best, he was threatened by thugs.
At worst, his business was set on fire ...
It is the repeated fires that intrigue the police.
From the beginning of the year, the shops of the Leclerc tower and its surroundings start to burn regularly.
In total, there will be eight fires of very suspicious origin in 2020, including six in the Leclerc tower alone.
The most resounding: that of April 11, where three businesses go up in smoke.
"It was the most complete omerta"
Investigators then managed to trace up to five other similar fires, including a parking fire that caused great damage.
That day, ten cars burned and the structure of the building was weakened.
A group of specialized investigators is set up within the police station.
He will work tirelessly on these repeated fires and come up against the law of silence.
Because businesses may burn down one after the other, no one ever comes to file a complaint.
“It was the most complete omerta.
The first to speak, his business was set on fire, ”indicates a source close to the investigation.
But over the course of the investigations, the police managed to build relationships of trust with the victims.
Little by little, the tongues are loosened.
The oldest traders speak in turn.
And investigators realize that this mafia system has been rife since at least 2017.
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They had to pay double rent: the one due to their landlord and the mafia pizzo he paid to the crooks.
Like the Italian mafias, their followers of La Courneuve had set up a formidable system.
The traders had three choices: either pay rent, or hire black staff, or agree to serve the racketeers in kind.
The criminal organization included security guards, envelope collectors, planning organizers… Each little hand of racketeering could earn a salary of 1500 euros per month.
Testimonials under X
This hold over the 4000-Sud district enabled them to "secure" another business, that of drug trafficking, in which the two families were already making a name for themselves.
"They thus controlled the territory and could easily install traffic on the Leclerc tower by plunging all businesses into terror", explains a source close to the investigation.
All links in the traffic were arrested, most of them in their thirties.
None showed any sign of significant outward wealth.
Their lifestyle was discreet and the bank accounts did not show exorbitant sums.
Since their arrest, a victim has dared to cross the doors of the La Courneuve police station.
"This is a sign that a bond of trust has been created," said a police officer who hopes that he will be followed by other traders.
So far, for fear of reprisals, these funds have all testified under X.