Two riot police officers injured during anti-drugs operation in Barbière neighbourhood in Avignon
Two riot police officers were injured on Tuesday evening in Avignon following the arrest of a lookout for a drug dealing network. Around thirty people attacked the police forces.
Violence in Avignon: two riot police officers injured after arrest of dealer's lookout
Two riot police officers were injured on Tuesday evening during an operation in the Barbière neighbourhood of Avignon, reports ici.fr. The police officers specialising in public order had been dispatched to the scene to arrest a man suspected of acting as a lookout for drug dealers.
After his immobilisation, the suspect raised the alarm. Around thirty people then arrived at the scene to attack the police forces, who had to call for reinforcements. Facing a barrage of projectiles, the riot police resorted to tear gas grenades.
One of the police officers was hit on the hand, resulting in several days of incapacity for work. The other was injured on the arm and face. Columns of riot police returned to the neighbourhood on Wednesday afternoon for a surveillance operation.
This new incident is part of a series of recurring tensions in this sector of Avignon. On 29 July 2025, the Vaucluse national police and the CRS 81 had already conducted an operation in the Barbière neighbourhood, during which a significant cache of narcotics was discovered thanks to the canine unit. A man and a woman had been arrested as part of a drug trafficking investigation, opened following a routine check at a petrol station in Cavaillon.
On the night of 1 January 2026, a police intervention in the Reine-Jeanne neighbourhood also turned violent, leaving eight police officers injured and resulting in several arrests. At Place Coupo Santo, a 25-year-old man, already known to police, had violently assaulted BAC officers during a check, injuring two police officers before being admitted to the psychiatric ward at Montfavet General Hospital.
Source: Google News FR — Crime (fr)