French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said on Tuesday, December 20 in Dakar, in the presence of his Senegalese counterpart, that he wanted to cut short the "
rumor
" about intense drug trafficking between the two countries.
His Senegalese colleague Antoine Félix Abdoulaye Diome spoke for his part of a “
really marginal
” question and spoke out against the “
clichés
” conveyed on the part taken by his compatriots in drug trafficking, in particular crack in Paris.
There are no "drugs circulating between Senegal and France"
"
We note - and I think it is a shared point of view in intelligence - that there is not, at least not in very large quantities, drugs circulating between Senegal and France
", Gérald Darmanin told the press after talks with his counterpart during a 24-hour visit to this traditional ally of France.
"
We do not see the arrival of traffic formed between Senegal and France, I would like to put this rumor to rest
," he said.
"
But we need to talk more about the few people - it's really only a few people - who are involved in trafficking, especially in Paris
", he said while affirming that Paris and Dakar already had "
a excellent cooperation
" on the subject.
Read alsoDrugs: the scourge of crack poisons Paris
Crack trafficking and consumption in Paris is a highly publicized issue in France.
Gérald Darmanin asked in July that crack, a smokable and very addictive derivative of cocaine called "
poor man's drug
" because of its cost (10 euros per dose) - be eradicated from Paris "
within a year
".
The involvement of Senegalese has been reported in various media.
French politician Eric Zemmour, presidential candidate for 2022, said in May 2021 that “
all crack dealers (were) Senegalese
” in Paris.
“
There may be Senegalese living in France who are being prosecuted for certain offenses just as there may be French people living in Senegal being prosecuted for offenses of this nature
,” said Antoine Félix Abdoulaye Diome.
“
It's a really marginal question compared to our discussions, but even compared to the scale of the phenomenon of trafficking that can take place in Senegal or France.
There are often clichés that need to be broken
,” he said.