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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL STRATEGY REPORT, MARCH 1996: FRANCE
United States Department of State
Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
I. Summary
France remained an important transit country, particularly for narcotics
originating in the Middle East and Southwest Asia. Heroin is the drug
of primary concern to the Government of France (GOF), but a dramatic
increase in the trafficking and consumption of cocaine in 1995 --
including crack cocaine -- attracted the Government's attention.
France remained in the forefront of European countries opposing drug
decriminalization.
Proposed legislation, likely to be enacted by the French National
Assembly in early 1996, will strengthen criminal penalties for money
laundering. The proposed asset seizure law as it relates to laundering
of drug proceeds, considered one of the strongest in Western Europe,
should prove quite helpful in enforcing French drug control measures.
France produces a variety of precursor and essential chemicals, which
the GOF actively monitors and controls through an inter-agency office at
French Customs. France adopted the EU's chemical regulations in 1993
and has fully implemented these regulations.
II. Status of Country
Seizure and consumption data from 1994, which were released in the
Spring of 1995, suggest growing activity by French narcotics traffickers
and consumers. Narcotics data for 1995 will be released in the Spring
of 1996. In 1994, arrests for heroin use grew to 17,149 -- an increase
of nearly 15% over 1993. Arrests for cocaine/crack cocaine use grew to
1,278 persons in 1994 -- an increase of 25% over 1993. Drug-related
deaths increased by 24% in 1994 compared to 1993, mainly from heroin
overdoses.
III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 1995
Policy Initiatives. France's new penal code, effective in March 1994,
has made drug trafficking punishable by life imprisonment and drug
production by a 30-year term. Those accused of directing a drugproducing
or drug-trafficking ring face judgment by a special court that
handles spy and terrorism cases. Previously, French authorities had
classified drug trafficking as a misdemeanor.
In 1995, the GOF maintained a firm stance against narcotics
decriminalization. Polls confirmed that most French citizens support
the Government's position. Generational differences of opinion about
decriminalizing drugs are striking; support for decriminalization is
more apparent among the younger generation, from those polled.
Agreements and Treaties. France is a party to the 1988 UN Convention
Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances
and is complying with the Convention's goals and objectives. The United
States Government (USG) and the GOF have narcotics-related agreements,
including a 1971 agreement on coordinating action against illicit
trafficking. The United States and France have an Extradition Treaty,
but French law does not permit the extradition of French citizens. The
GOF has, however, formally arranged with the USG and some other
countries to prosecute its nationals domestically for extraditable
crimes committed elsewhere.
France participates in international drug control fora, including the
United Nations International Drug Control Program (UNDCP), the Financial
Action Task Force (FATF) and the Dublin Group. Annual French
expenditures for overseas counter-narcotics assistance of all types
(police training, crop substitution, prevention) totalled approximately
$10 million in 1995. According to UNDCP, France had pledged over
$900,000 in FY95 contributions to UNDCP, as of early 1996. The French
Foreign Ministry's Office of Security Affairs, which monitors terrorism,
organized crime, narcotics and money laundering expanded its
participation in international drug control organizations in 1995.
Law Enforcement. The Government's enforcement of narcotics laws has
remained efficient and effective. Drug trafficking arrests rose to
7,149 in 1994, more than an 11% increase over 1993. Arrests for heroin
trafficking increased from 3,395 in 1993 to 3,562 in 1994. Arrests for
cocaine trafficking, including crack cocaine, increased 109% in 1994 to
542 persons. Seizures rose sharply over 1993 figures with a 26%
increase for cannabis (58,014 kilograms (kg); a 71% increase for heroin
(661 kg); and a 166% increase for cocaine (4,742 kg).
Corruption. Public corruption related to drugs is not a problem in
France. The USG is not aware of any involvement by senior officials in
the production or distribution of drugs, or in the laundering of drug
proceeds.
Drug Flow/Transit. France is an important transshipment point for
illicit drugs, especially heroin. Heroin is shipped primarily from the
Netherlands, Pakistan and Turkey into the French domestic market, and
then transshipped to other European markets or North America. According
to the GOF, approximately 35 percent of the heroin seized, whose origin
could be identified, came from the Netherlands in 1994. Nigerian drug
organizations continue to use a variety of nationals to smuggle heroin,
via France, to the United States. However, the total amount of heroin
transiting France en route to the United States is unknown.
France is also a transit route for hashish originating in Southwest Asia
(particularly Pakistan), Lebanon, and North Africa destined for French
domestic consumption, European markets, and North America, especially
Canada.
France is a growing transshipment point and consumer market for South
American cocaine. Criminal groups operating in the Netherlands and
southern France near the Spanish and Italian borders supply the French
market with cocaine.
Cultivation/Production. According to authorities, the manufacture and
cultivation of illicit drugs is not a problem in France.
Demand Reduction. France's drug control agency, the General Delegation
for the Fight Against Drugs and Addiction (DGLDT), is responsible for
coordinating demand reduction programs. In 1995,the GOF's budget for
drug control programs totalled $200 million, nearly a four-fold increase
over 1994. Drug education efforts targeted government officials,
counselors, teachers, and medical personnel. The GOF continues to
expand its experimental methadone treatment program.
France produces amphetamines and reports its production to the
International Narcotics Control Board (INCB). As a producer of licit
chemicals used to make illicit narcotics, France has continued to
improve its cooperation with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
to monitor and control these products.
IV. US Policy Initiatives and Programs
Bilateral Cooperation. The United States and France enjoy excellent
counter-narcotics law enforcement cooperation. The French police
participate in USG-sponsored money laundering courses and in specialized
narcotics training courses. The USG also works with the GOF to provide
counter-narcotics assistance to narcotics-producing and transit
countries, and is pressing for a bilateral agreement on sharing seized
and forfeited assets. During his State visit in February 1996,
President Chirac identified closer bilateral and multilateral
cooperation with the United States as a high priority for his
Government.
The Road Ahead. The United States looks forward to continued close
cooperation with France on all counter-narcotic fronts, including in
multilateral anti-drug fora such as the Dublin Group, and will work
closely with the French in developing a maritime agreement for the
Caribbean.
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