Shooting in Poitiers: between 400 and 600 people involved, what we know

A brawl involving several hundred people took place on the evening of Thursday October 31. Five people were seriously injured, including at least three minors.

Halloween night turned into a nightmare. Around 10:45 pm this Thursday, October 31, in Poitiers (Vienne), a party degenerated, leading to a shootout between several groups, according to information from BFMTV. According to Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, “several people […] between 400 and 600 were involved” in this shooting. It was apparently a “restaurant that turned into a brawl”.

The police quickly arrived on the scene. Emergency services were also deployed. Five people were injured by gunfire. Among them were two 16-year-old teenagers and a 15-year-old. The latter's life is in danger.

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Violence against a backdrop of drug trafficking

The Minister of the Interior confirmed the link between this shooting and drug trafficking. He made a comparison with certain South American countries: “These shootings are not happening in South America, they are happening in Rennes [where a 5-year-old child was seriously injured by gunshots to the head on Saturday, October 26, in a neighborhood known for harboring drug trafficking, Editor's note].” Poitiers, in this Western France once renowned for its tranquility.” Bruno Retailleau continues the comparison by assuring that “we are at the tipping point and the choice we have today is a choice between a general mobilization or the Mexicanization of the country”. Enough to serve the interests of the tenant of Place Beauvau. He pleads for security measures that do not please part of the hemicycle, but which could well be adopted after such events so close together in time and gravity.

The prefect of Vienne, Jean-Marie Grier, spoke on BFMTV. He explained that there was “little trafficking in the area of ​​Place Coïmbra”, where the shooting took place, and called on the population to remain calm. He fears that “some people want to take justice into their own hands”. The Mayor of Poitiers, for her part, reports a “growing feeling of insecurity, it's anxiety-provoking”.