2023-10-26 20:09:07
Gérald Darmanin, in Paris, October 26, 2023. JULIEN MUGUET FOR “LE MONDE”
A quick trip, just a few hours, for a trip that was not on his official agenda. On Wednesday October 25, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin created a surprise by landing in the United Arab Emirates for a one-day whirlwind visit, between protocol meetings with French expatriates, meetings with French companies working in the field new technologies but also, he tweeted, “rich exchanges around our security and judicial cooperation, the fight against drug traffickers”.
Twice, in the spring and then in July, Mr. Darmanin had to postpone this visit, although announced, due to the internal situation marked by demonstrations during the pension reform, then the riots which shook the country. Officially, it was for the tenant of Place Beauvau to attend the annual meeting of the International Security Alliance (ISA), a security cooperation body bringing together eleven countries. But Mr. Darmanin also attended drone intervention demonstrations, particularly during serious road accidents.
The aim of the meetings with the Emirati authorities was above all to strengthen the links between Paris and the UAE in terms of international judicial cooperation. “The minister and his counterpart [Saif Ben Zayed Al Nahyane, vice-premier ministre et ministre de l’intérieur] underlined the quality of the bilateral relationship,” diplomatically observes those around him. But for those involved in security on the ground, this cooperation remains to be perfected.
Rear base for French drug traffickers
Nestled in dizzying penthouses, or holed up behind the walls of their villas, around thirty French drug traffickers, according to specialized police services, have chosen Dubai as their refuge. The environment is conducive to remotely supervising criminal cases while making the profits from the drug trade grow. Because there is no shortage of opportunities, around clearing houses, mineral and cryptocurrency markets, or even gigantic real estate programs. All in a peaceful environment, in one of the safest countries on the planet, with a spectacular range of leisure and entertainment options.
The image of an inviolable rear base for narcos has, however, been tarnished in the last two years by a handful of arrests touted in action videos posted online by the Dubai police – a way of staging the goodwill of the Emirates. This was the case in 2021 when Hakim Berrebouh and Moufide Bouchibi, two targets of the “high spectrum” linked to cannabis trafficking, were arrested and then extradited to France. “A sign that excellent judicial cooperation can be possible provided you want it” wants to believe a source within a central crime fighting service.
You have 40% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
#Dubai #Gérald #Darmanin #strengthen #international #judicial #cooperation #France #Emirates