Quand les ministeres s'affrontent sur les pouvoirs de police: La legalisation de l'infiltration dans la lutte contre le trafic de stupefiants
In: Revue française de science politique, Band 58, Heft 4, S. 569-593
ISSN: 0035-2950
This article examines how police undercover techniques dealing with drug-trafficking were put on the agenda & legalized in France. Occurring in 1991, after Customs officers were imprisoned for an illegal sting operation, this first step was followed in 2004 by a further extension of proactive police powers. The 1991 law was enacted in an emergency situation, but it must be set in the context of a restructuring of Custom's interventions, as a consequence of European unification & the abolition of "inner borders." At the time, this matter provoked a trial of strength between the various ministries involved (Budget, 1nterior & Justice). Retracing step by step the discussions between these stakeholders, the author shows that the ministry of Justice was able to use a window of opportunity to further its own objectives, to the great displeasure of the ministry of Interior which was unable to prevent it. Despite having to accept a compromise, however, the Customs managed to legitimize its future undercover operations. Adapted from the source document.