Drug seizures up 25.9%: gendarmes crack down on Deauville
Gendarmes are intensifying checks in French seaside resorts this summer, with drug seizures up 25.9% since the start of 2026.
Deauville under surveillance: gendarmes and sniffer dogs crack down on drugs
According to France Info, drug seizures have surged 25.9% since the beginning of 2026 in France. To cope with this influx, the gendarmerie is reinforcing its numbers in seaside resorts during the summer season. Deauville, in Calvados, illustrates this ground-level strategy.
On the seafront promenade of the Normandy resort, two plainclothes gendarmes observe the beach without drawing attention to themselves. Their role: to spot potential drug users and alert their uniformed colleagues positioned nearby. A couple is quickly suspected of having smoked cannabis. The woman claims it is CBD, a tolerated substance. She nonetheless receives a fine of 135 euros — smoking on the beach has been prohibited throughout France for a year. "It's not serious. At least it serves as a warning to me," says the offender.
Population multiplied by eight, online trafficking in the firing line
In summer, Deauville's population increases eightfold. Among holidaymakers are also drug users, and sometimes traffickers. To contain these flows, the gendarmerie monitors the Paris-Deauville route, notably on trains. Crowded carriages do not deter sniffer dogs: in less than an hour, five fines of 200 euros each are issued for drug possession.
The haul includes CBD and cannabis resin, but also increasingly common synthetic drugs. "Regularly, we find cocaine, ketamine and some heroin. This was not the case at all before," notes adjudant-chef Cédric Moulin, of the canine investigation unit in Caen.
Airport and dismantling of trafficking networks
The operation extends to Deauville airport. At the exit of a flight from Málaga, Spain, a dog detects a suspicious odour in a suitcase. The bag is set aside and searched: residues of substances are found inside. A test is carried out to identify the product.
In less than a year, Deauville gendarmerie company has dismantled three trafficking networks, with seizures ranging from 4 kg to 31 kg of drugs. The reinforcement of numbers during summer is aimed precisely at maintaining pressure on the supply channels that benefit from the high tourist season.
Source: France Info