Retailleau said he would travel later to the northwestern city of Rennes, where a 5-year old boy was shot in the head in another drug-related incident last week, according to local media.
In his interview, Retailleau condemned what he called the “Mexicanization” of France.
“These shootings aren’t happening in South America, they’re happening in Rennes, Poitiers, in this western France once renowned for its tranquility. We’re at a tipping point,” he said.
France has in recent years struggled with a rise in drug-related crime in Marseille, the historical center of the country’s illicit narcotics trade, and in small and medium sized cities across the country.
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