Written By Lisa Murimi
A drive-by shooting linked to drug trafficking escalated into a brawl involving hundreds in Poitiers Thursday night, French authorities report.
Five individuals sustained serious injuries in the attack, which took place at a restaurant in Place de Coimbra, an area associated with drug-related crime.
Among the wounded is a 15-year-old boy, who remains in critical condition after being shot in the head.
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau condemned the incident, describing it as a stark warning of escalating drug-related violence in France.
“These shootings are happening not just abroad but here in our own cities,” he told BFMTV.
“We must choose between general mobilization or risking the ‘Mexicanisation’ of our country.”
Following the drive-by attack, tensions flared into fighting among rival groups, with 400 to 600 people involved, according to local police.
Authorities were forced to deploy both police and gendarmerie to control the outbreak.
This incident follows a similar shooting in Rennes last week, where a five-year-old boy tragically lost his life.
Experts caution that drug violence is increasingly moving beyond major hubs like Marseille and Paris, infiltrating smaller cities and even rural regions across France.
