France's Minister of Justice courted controversy last month when he declared that no corner of the country was safe from the scourge of drug dealing.
Speaking to French podcast LEGEND, Gérald Darmanin said even the 'smallest rural town' in France is now blighted by the illicit drugs trade.
'Drugs have always existed, but today we can clearly see that in the smallest rural town, they know about cocaine, cannabis.
'Beforehand, drugs were simply in big towns [and cities] or the metro... it has become widespread, metastasised,' he added.
Many dismissed the statement, in which he went on to rail against escalating violence and call for law enforcement crackdowns, as little more than political rhetoric laying the groundwork for a widely anticipated presidential campaign ahead of 2027.
