The French Navy intercepted a boat in Caribbean waters that was transporting cocaine and handed the vessel and its cargo to Barbadian authorities, France's Armed Forces Minister said on Thursday. Minister Catherine Vautrin posted on X that approximately 678 kilogrammes of cocaine were seized during the operation.
The move takes place amid broader international efforts by the United States and other countries to step up enforcement against drug trafficking. France, which maintains overseas territories in the Caribbean and parts of Latin America, has adopted a more assertive posture in recent months in response to the flow of illegal narcotics across the region.
A report published in December by the French Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction indicated that cocaine has overtaken cannabis as the most prevalent illegal drug in France. Authorities have also reported a rise in gang-related drug crime domestically, concerns that have informed French policy actions.
In a related diplomatic effort, France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot launched a multi-pronged plan during a visit to Colombia, noted as the world's largest producer of cocaine, aimed at addressing a rapid escalation in drug trafficking across Latin America, the Caribbean and, increasingly, Europe. Paris has been advocating for the establishment of a European Union sanctions framework to confront the problem.
The interception and handover to Barbadian authorities highlight France's operational role in regional maritime security and its reliance on international cooperation to disrupt shipments of illegal drugs. Official comments stressed the quantity seized and the collaborative nature of the response, while broader policy steps continue to be promoted by Paris at the European level.
Context and next steps
French officials have signaled a shift toward more aggressive enforcement and diplomatic measures to curb trafficking flows originating in Latin America and the Caribbean. The December monitoring report and increasing gang-related incidents in France have contributed to that policy direction. How these operational seizures and proposed sanctions will affect longer term trafficking trends and regional dynamics remains a focus for French authorities.