France's Anti-drug Trafficking Law to Evict Dealers and Troublemakers From Public Housing, With the First Court Rulings Now

The prefect of the Hauts-de-Seine department, Alexandre Brugère, is using new powers granted by France's anti-drug trafficking law to evict dealers and troublemakers from public housing, with the first court rulings now being handed down. Brugère, a relentless campaigner against radical Islamism in his department, has also declared war on drug trafficking. The former chief of staff to Gérald Darmanin when he was interior minister welcomed a recent ruling by the Nanterre court.

The conviction of the couple G. in Rueil-Malmaison is emblematic of his tough action against dealers who blight the lives of residents in social housing estates. It perfectly illustrates the new powers given to prefects under the so-called Narcotrafic law of June 13, 2025. The legislation allows the state's representative to issue, as a judge would, bans preventing lookouts, buyers, and the small-time operatives who feed the drug trade from appearing at dealing spots, without waiting for the outcome of often lengthy criminal proceedings. Moreover, it now enables the prefect to order a social or private landlord to take legal action to obtain the eviction of offenders.