Those convicted of belonging to organized crime groups in France will face up to 20 years in prison under new criminal statutes being introduced by the government, French Justice Minister Éric Dupond-Moretti said in an interview with the Tribune Dimanche newspaper published on Sunday.
A new specialized national public prosecutor’s office will also be created to better coordinate the fight against organized crime, Dupond-Moretti said.
He said France should introduce protections and benefits for criminals who turn on their former associates and provide key evidence to help dismantle a criminal network.
Dupond-Moretti said French law should be modelled on the “pentito,” or penetent, model in Italy that has been extensively used in efforts to undermine the mafia there.
He argued that current French provisions for former criminals who agree to cooperate with authorities are inefficient and too narrow.
Special courts staffed entirely by professional magistrates, instead of citizen jurors, should be given expanded jurisdiction over cases involving organized crime, he said.
Dupond-Moretti’s announcements largely correspond to recommendations from French anti-mafia organizations.
Dupond-Moretti’s main aim with the new measures is to crack down on drug trafficking. In recent weeks, French police have arrested more than a thousand suspects in the drugs milieu in large-scale police operations.
Organized crime in France has been a source of concern for the current government. The mafia is active on the French Mediterranean island of Corsica, for example.
According to an internal report by an anti-mafia unit of the police and the gendarmerie, which was quoted by French media, there are 25 criminal gangs active on the island.