What France's New Anti-Drug Campaign Announces

France's Interior Minister, Laurent Nuñez, has used a government statement to launch a new nationwide communication campaign against drugs and drug trafficking, built around the slogan 'On paie tous le prix de la drogue' — 'We all pay the price of drugs.' The release says it is the first time all concerned ministries and state services have been brought together under a single message: say no to drugs and to narcotics trafficking.

According to the minister, trafficking is no longer a big-city problem. The statement says the drug supply now covers the whole of French territory 'with no white zones,' citing the anti-drug office OFAST, and notes that six in ten French people believe there is drug dealing near their home, with a third saying they are certain of it.

The government's case rests on several figures: the annual turnover of the illegal drug economy in France is estimated by the OFDT at €6.8 billion; 290,400 people were implicated for drug use, with the number of people implicated for trafficking and use rising continuously since 2016; 42 tonnes of cocaine were seized in the first half of 2025, more than the 37.5 tonnes recorded for all of 2024; and 367 killings and attempted killings linked to trafficking violence were recorded in 2024.

Nuñez also highlighted the human cost. The statement points to addiction, overdose and psychological or physical harm, sometimes after a first use, and to teenagers recruited as lookouts, dealers or intermediaries by criminal networks. It argues that those who trivialize consumption underestimate the role of international criminal organizations, and that the human, health, social, economic and security cost is paid by society as a whole.

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The Numbers Behind the 'We All Pay the Price of Drugs' Push

A Government Communication Push With a Statistical Backbone

The release is, above all, a political communication document. By tying the campaign to figures from OFDT, OFAST and the Interior Ministry, the government is trying to establish a single set of facts for public debate: that trafficking is everywhere, that it is growing, and that it carries a measurable economic and violent cost. The most striking number is cocaine seizures — 42 tonnes in six months against 37.5 tonnes in all of 2024 — because it suggests supply reaching France is expanding despite record law enforcement results.

The Perception Data Matter as Much as the Seizures

Six in ten French people saying they believe dealing happens near their home is a perception measure, not a crime statistic, but it is politically important. A campaign aimed at all ministries and all territories suggests the government is responding to a sense of insecurity that has spread beyond the banlieues. The phrase 'no white zones' implies the problem is now framed as national rather than urban.

A Partial Picture of the Problem

The statement is selective. It gives one 2021 figure — 320 hospitalized drug mules with an average age of 27 — to illustrate the health burden, and one 2024 figure for drug-related killings, but it does not set out any new enforcement measures, budget commitments, or legislative proposals. The announced response — dismantling networks and protecting public agents — restates existing priorities rather than introducing new policy. For that reason, the campaign's practical effect will depend on what follows it, not on the communication push itself.

What Comes After the Campaign Announcement

For local authorities and public-sector workers: the government's 'no white zones' message signals that drug enforcement will be presented as a national issue; municipalities in rural and small-city areas can expect to be part of the communication campaign even where visible police operations are not announced.

  • For citizens: the figures to watch are the 2025 full-year cocaine seizure total, given that 42 tonnes were already seized in the first half, and the number of drug-related killings, which the Interior Ministry put at 367 for 2024. These are the statistics likely to shape the next round of policy.
  • For observers: no new measures, budget or timeline were announced in this release; the substantive test of the campaign will be whether the cross-ministerial message is followed by enforcement actions beyond the communication itself.