Drug trafficking, violence, road safety: the prefecture issues its report

Yesterday afternoon, the prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes presented the department’s 2025 security report. During this press conference, public security, civil security and road accidents were discussed.

This Wednesday afternoon, the prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes, Laurent Hottiaux presented the figures from the 2025 report concerning security in the department. At the opening of the press conference, the prefect wanted to reaffirm the place of security within his mandate. « Security is my top priority in the department » he explains.

During this meeting, several aspects of security were addressed, including: delinquency, drug trafficking, Islamism, irregular immigration, civil security, event management and road safety. The prefect said he was satisfied with the figures for 2025, « these figures are good even though there is still much work to be done ». Indeed, delinquency on public roads fell by -3.34 % compared to 2024. Crimes against property also dropped by -2.8 % compared to the previous year.

Despite a decrease in delinquency, certain violence indicators continue to rise. In 2025, 18,172 people who were victims of violence were recorded against 15,928 in 2024. For its part, femicides are also on the rise, with five recorded in 2025 compared to two the year before.

Drug trafficking at the heart of the fight

Drug trafficking is among the other priorities for the prefect. In total, 1,904 operations were conducted in 2025 against trafficking, representing an increase of 24 %. These numerous operations resulted in the incarceration of 344 individuals (+74.6 %) and the dismantling of eight drug dealing points. On the seizures side (excluding customs), nearly four tons of drugs were confiscated during 2025, an increase of 16 %. A record that makes the Alpes-Maritimes the department where the largest quantity of substance was seized.

Customs seizures are also on the rise, approximately 350 during 2025, or 50 % more according to the interdepartmental director of the national police. However, police operations are hindered by the methods of drug traffickers which increasingly resemble « terrorist« forms of action according to colonel Benoît Taponat.

Decline in road accidents

On the roads, the number of accidents has decreased. In 2025, 772 accidents were recorded compared to 783 in 2024 and 941 in 2021. A drastic drop was notably observed among two-wheeler users with a decrease of approximately 50 % of fatal accidents thanks to increased controls.

On the mortality side, 51 users were killed in 2025 compared to 55 the year before. Among the aggravating factors, fatal accidents are primarily caused by speed in 42.55 % of cases followed by inattention (25.53 %). To encourage prevention, awareness-raising actions were strengthened, with a total of 775 action days organized in 2025 compared to 667 in 2024.