The Moulins district is healing its wounds after a new fatal shooting which cost the lives of two fathers in broad daylight. This tragedy revives the debate on sending soldiers to the cities of Nice to stem the violence of drug traffickers.
Eleven deaths in two years. To the west of Nice, the Moulins district is plagued by the scourge of drug trafficking. Monday, May 11, a shooter approached the Place des Amaryllis on a scooter, which houses a few businesses, before opening fire in the direction of a group gathered in front of a café and the “Palais Sucré” boutique.
Two people died, two fathers aged 57 and 39, and six others were injured. A tragic event that the authorities link to the drug war. Only three individuals were unfavorably known to the courts.
A permanent police presence to secure the Place des Amaryllis
Mayor Éric Ciotti (UDR), who visited the site on Tuesday, promised that a premises belonging to the lessor Côte d’Azur Habitat would become, from next week, a permanent municipal police station.
Anthony Borré (Horizons), former first deputy during the time of Christian Estrosi, also spoke. “The situation is extremely serious. It imposes exceptional means. We must immediately strengthen the number of investigators and the field forces of the national police.”he says.
But if he assures that the agents « n’ont jamais abandonné » this corner of the city, it calls to go further:
“Faced with confined children and assassinations in broad daylight, we must consider the deployment of the army via Sentinelle, under the authority of the national police.”
A sea serpent, which comes back very often. Already in April 2023, Anthony Borré proposed this measure. Christian Estrosi also spoke about it in July 2024. But is this request really credible?
“The army has not been responsible for these missions for more than a century and we have specialized units perfectly trained for this”retorted in our columns Laurent Hottiaux, the prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes, in December 2025.
“I also say it in support of our national police officers. Doubting their ability to hold the ground is a form of misunderstanding, even distrust, that I do not share.”
Is she definitively buried? In September 2023, a poll on the issue showed that the French were mainly in favor of using troops to fight against traffickers. 67% of them wanted his intervention. The remaining third believes that it would not be relevant in this context.Â
