French mayor detained after 70kg of cannabis found in home

The mayor of a small French town in central-eastern France has been detained after police said 70kg (154lb) of cannabis was found in her home.

Police said it had also discovered about 1kg of cocaine, €7,000 euros (£5,991) in cash and gold bars.

Jamilah Habsaoui, the mayor of Avallon, and two of her brothers were among seven people arrested earlier this week, the public prosecutor said.

Ms Habsaoui's lawyer denied that she knew the drugs were stored at her home.

The mayor's house, the town hall, and the pharmacy whereMs Habsaoui workedwere all searched, prosecutor Hugues de Phily told AFP news agency.

Mr Phily said her arrest on Sunday was the result of several weeks of investigations into drug trafficking in the town, which is home to 6,000 people and located in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region.

Ms Habsaoui was elected mayor in March 2021, after serving as a local councillor since 2014.

The lawyer for one of Ms Habsaoui's brothers told French newspaper Le Figaro that the drugs were stored at the property without the mayor's knowledge and without her consent.

In an interview with local newspaper L'Yonne Républicaine, Ms Habsaoui's lawyer said the mayor was "stunned by the discovery made in her house by the gendarmes".

Ms Habsaoui has been charged and detained pending trial along with five others, according to a statement released by the prosecutor on Thursday.

In the last few months, raids have taken place across the country as part of a nationwide campaign to clamp down on drug trafficking in French cities.

French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said more than 7,000 people were arrested since the campaign launch in October 2023, with authorities seizing a total of 3.6 tonnes of narcotics.