About a quarter of those interviewed declared they live near a place where drugs are being transshipped, while 47% denied this scenario and 29% said they did not know.

The survey itself ranked drug trafficking as second security concern for the French (50%) on which the government should act as priority, behind aggression against persons (61%).

Priority nature of this struggle is taken up by voters regardless of their political party affiliation, confirms the opinion poll.

The survey comes out a day after President Emmanuel Macron made a surprise visit to the southern city of Marseille, particularly hit by drug trafficking.

He announced a large-scale anti-drug operation in the city, the second most populated in the country, only surpassed by the capital Paris.

BFM TV said that three quarters of participants in the poll considered this measure will only provide a temporary solution to the problem.

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