The inhabitants of Perseigne in Alençon (Orne) had a rough night.
The neighborhood was the scene of an outbreak of violence during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday.
Young people set fire to fifteen cars before firing projectiles at firefighters and the police who came to extinguish the fires and restore order.
"During the day, the police arrested drug traffickers in flagrante delicto", declared this Wednesday morning, Françoise Tahéri, the prefect of Orne, at the microphone of BFMTV.
"The investigation will say if there is a link between these two events but we can assume so," she added.
The first fires were caused around half past midnight by hooded young people from the city moving on foot or by car, throwing molotov cocktails into parked cars, reports Ouest-France.
Their strategy: "turn on the car fires in order to then pound the firefighters and provoke the arrival of the police to do battle with them", explains the regional daily.
The strategy is paying off because around one in the morning, the police and gendarmes are called in to support the firefighters who are facing jets of projectiles and mortar fire.
That night the Perseigne district experienced an outbreak of violence.
About fifteen cars were set on fire and the police were targeted by fireworks mortars after a young person from the neighborhood was arrested for trafficking in the morning # Alençon pic.twitter.com/ES7U7ufuAr
- Sacha Martinez (@ SachaMartinez42) October 27, 2021
Finally, the confrontation will not take place according to the regional daily which affirms that other young people came to reason with the thugs who faced the police.
Disrupt the deal points
Some districts of the department are plagued by drug trafficking, according to the prefect.
"The police and gendarmes lead a mission throughout the department which aims to disrupt the points of deal and drug traffickers, there are arrests and seizures," she explained.
Violence linked to deal points has increased in recent days after a shooting started on Monday in the Duchère district of Lyon in connection with actions against drug trafficking.
"I asked for reinforcements specializing in urban violence, they will be present during the day and night", also declared the representative of the State.