Valence: 14 lightly injured in arson attack, mayor blames 'drug trafficker harassment'

Fourteen people sustained minor injuries after an arson attack on a residential building in Valence, France, early Monday. The mayor, Nicolas Daragon, condemned the "unqualified acts" and denounced "harassment by drug traffickers," linking the incident to a recent surge in criminal activity often associated with the drug trade.

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Today I first think of my fellow citizens who can no longer bear to suffer this harassment by drug traffickers, I hope that firm measures will be taken at the national level.

Daragon, speaking alongside the local prosecutor and prefect, expressed concern for citizens enduring this escalating violence. The prefect of Drôme, Marie-Aimée Gaspari, described it as a "new cycle" of violence with a "much more violent" modus operandi, targeting collective housing and endangering residents uninvolved in drug trafficking. She announced reinforcements of CRS (republican security companies) in the affected neighborhood.

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a real escalation of violence, (...) which requires an immediate reaction.

Valence prosecutor Laurent De Caigny noted that ten individuals have been arrested and jailed since March 10 in connection with various investigations, including attempted arson, shootings, and homicide attempts. He highlighted a "gradation in the methods employed" and assured the public that they were not abandoned to the fear tactics of traffickers. The fire, which occurred around 4 a.m., required the intervention of approximately fifty firefighters to evacuate residents.

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There is a gradation in the methods employed.