"France continues to be a major transshipment point for drugs moving through Europe. Given France‘s shared borders with trafficking conduits such as Spain, Italy, and Belgium, France is a natural distribution point for drugs moving toward North America from Europe and the Middle East. France‘s overseas territories‘ presence in the Caribbean, its proximity to North Africa, and its participation in the Schengen open border system, contribute to its desirability as a transit point for drugs, including drugs originating in South America. France‘s own large domestic market of cannabis users is attractive to traffickers as well. Specifically, in descending order, cannabis/hashish originating in Morocco, cocaine from South America, heroin originating in Afghanistan and transiting through Turkey, Belgium, and the Netherlands, and ecstasy (MDMA) originating in the Netherlands and Germany, all find their way to France."
"International Narcotics Control Strategy Report: Volume I Drug and Chemical Control," Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (Washington, DC: United States Department of State, March 2011), p. 250.
http://www.state.gov/document…