Outrage In France Over Killing Of Policeman In Drugs Bust

French politicians and police unions voiced outrage Thursday over the killing of a police officer during a drugs raid in the southern city of Avignon, which has reignited a debate over President Emmanuel Macron's record on fighting crime

Paris (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th May, 2021 ) :French politicians and police unions voiced outrage Thursday over the killing of a police officer during a drugs raid in the southern city of Avignon, which has reignited a debate over President Emmanuel Macron's record on fighting crime.

The 36-year-old officer and father of two was killed on Wednesday evening while investigating a gathering at a spot in central Avignon known for drug-dealing, interior minister Gerald Darmanin said.

On arriving at the scene around 6:30 pm the plainclothes officers began to carry out identity checks on those present when a suspect opened fire, a police source told AFP.

The source said the man fired "several times" at the slain officer and that the other officers returned fire but did not manage to apprehend the shooter before he fled on a kick scooter.

Darmanin said that the police and emergency services attempted in vain to save the officer's life and called it "a terrible tragedy".

The killing caused shock among the police, who had for months been warning that the drug-related violence that has long afflicted Marseille, a key hub in the trans-Mediterranean marijuana and cocaine trade, had spread to other southern cities such as Avignon, Montpellier and Perpignan.

A police union official said that the officers involved in Wednesday's operation were in plainclothes but wearing police armbands.

Visiting the scene Wednesday evening Darmanin eulogised the dead officer as a "soldier", saying he "died a hero" in what he called a "war" against drug dealers.