Bordeaux: residents of Cours Victor-Hugo grapple with drug trafficking
For years, residents and shopkeepers on Cours Victor-Hugo in Bordeaux have endured the nuisances linked to drug trafficking. A residents' collective is calling for the creation of a permanent police post to tackle the situation.
Intrusions and security decline in the Saint-Michel district
Cours Victor-Hugo, a major thoroughfare in the Saint-Michel district of Bordeaux, has for years been concentrated with the effects of drug trafficking. According to actu.fr, residents and shopkeepers suffer intrusions, harassment and the daily occupation of territory by dealers. A residents' collective, called Hugo délire, founded in June 2026, has decided to mobilise residents to obtain coercive measures from the town hall and the Gironde prefecture.
"Before, it was random insecurity. Now, it is permanent insecurity," explains a representative of the collective. The deterioration manifests itself through intrusions into residential or commercial premises, intended for storing drugs or money, but also through the visible consumption of narcotics. One resident thus discovered two individuals consuming cocaine in her bicycle storage area.
Impact on daily life and sense of insecurity
Living conditions are deteriorating. "There is sometimes a climate of terror setting in. Women are confronted with street harassment, children see people taking drugs and vulnerable people are not safe," says the collective's spokeswoman. The owner of the Adiu bar himself installed flower pots in April to try to discourage dealers from occupying the space.
Insufficient police presence
Municipal and national police regularly patrol the course, with reinforcements over recent months. However, the collective considers this action to be sporadic and ineffective. "There has been a reinforced presence for some time. Thanks to them, we have peace for 5 or 10 minutes. They pass 10 times during the day so that makes 100 minutes of calm," says a representative ironically. The town hall acknowledges that municipal police officers "are very mobilised and increase their patrols and checks", but also admits that this approach does not resolve the underlying problem.
The collective's demands and municipal responses
To put an end to the situation, Hugo délire is calling for the creation of a permanent police post in the street. The idea, inspired by discussions during Pierre Hurmic's previous term of office, could according to the collective be set up in the premises of La Poste, which is spacious enough to accommodate a police branch. "With continuous presence, dealers will abandon the area," the collective claims.
A meeting took place on Monday 12 October between the collective, the prefecture and the town hall. The municipality of Thomas Cazenave stated that "following a constructive meeting this week, new measures are being considered to help restore full peace of mind to the district". These measures would complement the actions already undertaken in terms of urban planning and video surveillance.
However, the creation of the police post appears compromised. The collective acknowledges that "the municipality wants to establish dialogue, it is listening," but notes the obstacle: a mixed police station already exists at Les Capucins. The town hall affirms it remains "very attentive to the situation on Cours Victor-Hugo, often difficult for residents to live with".
Source: Google News FR — Crime (fr)