PARIS (Reuters) – A gangland shootout set off a clash involving hundreds in the city of Poitiers overnight, leaving five people injured, French officials said on Friday, highlighting the challenges faced by the new government in tackling violent crime.
Many French cities are plagued by drug gangs who often operate in the low-income, high-rise housing estates on the outskirts of the historic city centres.
“It started off with a shooting at a restaurant. It ended up with a clash between rival gangs which involved several hundred people,” French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau told BFM TV, who added it was linked to rival drug gangs.
Extra police forces will be sent to the area later on Friday, added the local authority for the region.
Retailleau has vowed tougher action against drug gangs and illegal immigration, as the new government led by centre-right Prime Minister Michel Barnier aims to shore up its support in France.
Concerns over violent crime have been cited as one of the reasons behind voters choosing Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) party, which says it will do more than other parties to tackle crime and illegal immigration.
President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to hold snap parliamentary elections in June and July resulted in a hung parliament, in which no party won an outright majority although Le Pen’s party has one of the biggest blocs in parliament.
(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Daren Butler)
