The French Government has launched a nationwide campaign, “On paie tous le prix de la drogue” (“We all pay the price of drugs”), aimed at raising awareness of the wider consequences of drug trafficking and drug use. First launched on June 19, 2026, the campaign is being deployed across government ministries and presents narcotrafficking as a problem affecting the whole of French society, not only people directly involved in illegal drug markets. According to a Harris Interactive survey commissioned by the Government Information Service, six in ten people in France believe drug trafficking takes place near where they live.

The campaign highlights the growing scale of the illegal drug market and its links to violence, organised crime, corruption and exploitation. According to figures cited by the government, the French drug market generates an estimated €6.8 billion in annual turnover and involves around 200,000 people, including approximately 10,000 minors. Authorities seized 42 tonnes of cocaine during the first half of 2025 alone, compared with 37.5 tonnes during the whole of 2024. In 2024, 367 murders and attempted murders were recorded in connection with drug trafficking violence.

Public health consequences are another central part of the campaign. France has an estimated 1.4 million regular cannabis users, while around one million people reported having used cocaine at least once in 2023. In 2024, more than 10,000 hospital stays were linked to cocaine intoxication and 130 deaths were recorded. The campaign also draws attention to young people recruited by criminal networks as lookouts, sellers or couriers, arguing that the social costs of the drug market extend far beyond individual users and contribute to violence, intimidation, money laundering and pressure on local communities and businesses.

The government describes its response as a broad mobilisation built around prevention, enforcement and protection. Its stated priorities are to prevent drug use and protect individuals, hold consumers accountable, dismantle criminal networks and strengthen protection for public officials working on the front line. The central message of the campaign is that the health, social, economic and security consequences of illegal drugs are ultimately borne by society as a whole: “When it comes to drugs, we all pay the price.”

Find more from www.info.gouv.fr (France, 2026)