Sawt Falasteen - Sniffer dogs police Cannes' cocaine-fuelled party scene

David Lisnard called for a "targeted operation to combat narcotics" with dozens of parties going on every night in glitzy hotels, luxury villas and on yachts moored in the bay.

Sniffer dogs who can detect cocaine and cannabis are being posted along the seafront Croisette where the big red carpet premieres are held every evening.

"When 200,000 people come, it's obvious there's trafficking, and we have to fight it," said rightwinger Lisnard, who is making a run to be French president next year.

He told AFP that the crackdown "applies to the entire population... and it also applies to festival-goers".

But while the police can conduct spot checks in public spaces, they are not allowed to raid parties or private spaces without a warrant.

- 'Hope they don't test here' -

"I hope they don't come in and test anyone in here," one veteran producer told AFP in the Cannes Market, where thousands of movers and shakers are buying and selling films.

One of his colleagues doubted that the anti-drugs drive would do much to stop the prodigious consumption of cocaine at the festival.

"Cocktails and cocaine are almost as old as the festival itself," he added, saying, "People might be a bit more careful, but they are not going to stop having a good time."

Indeed, some complain the police are not going after jetsetting cocaine users and are instead picking on local youths and minority groups.

A young man told AFP near the town's train station that he had been stopped five times in a single day. "I had nothing to hide, so they let me go," he said.

But the mayor insists the checks are not targeted and rejects any suggestion of stigmatisation.

The head of Cannes municipal police, Yves Daros, explained that "the legislation currently restricts us to public areas, but that's enough for us to get good results."

With so many wealthy people in one place, the police are also on the alert for jewellery heists and luxury watch theft.

Eric Antonetti, head of the regional criminal investigation department, said his officers have been reinforced by specialist police from Naples and Madrid during the festival.

The commissioner said that last year 65 percent of luxury watch thefts in Cannes were the work of "foreign offenders, 25 percent from Naples and 40 percent from Spanish criminal networks, mainly made up of teams from South America and North Africa."

X.Habash--SF-PST