PARIS — France said on Monday it had launched a new G7-backed network linking major ports, customs services and international organisations to improve intelligence sharing and coordination against global drug trafficking routes, Reuters reported. France formally launched the initiative during the meeting of foreign ministers from the Group of Seven — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States — in Paris on November 9 to 10.

Source: Reuters, Nov 9 2026

14the ports covered by the new G7+ network — Reuters
9the countries in the network: the G7 seven plus Brazil and South Korea — Reuters
4the international organisations named in the network: Interpol, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the International Maritime Organization and the World Customs Organization — Reuters

"Through this international dimension, we can bolster the substantial efforts already being led by the Ministry of the Interior — and other relevant ministries — to tackle a problem that inflicts such deep harm upon our society," France's foreign minister, Jean-Noel Barrot, said at a press conference, Reuters reported. The network aims to improve cooperation against narcotics trafficking through major maritime hubs by targeting the entire supply chain, from production and transit countries to destination markets.

Source: Reuters, Nov 9 2026

From a June promise to a November launch

Monday's launch delivers a commitment G7 leaders made in writing five months ago. In their declaration on the fight against drug trafficking, adopted at the Evian summit on June 17, the leaders said maritime transport is the primary vector for global drug and precursor chemical trafficking, committed to create a G7+ Ports Network to Combat Drug Trafficking in coordination with the European Ports Alliance and the European Coalition Against Drugs, and tasked their ministers to implement the network by November 2026. The same declaration promised an inventory of G7 initiatives and best practices for countering drug and precursor trafficking in ports, possible joint field visits to port authorities and law enforcement agencies, and a comprehensive action plan, also by November 2026, against the infiltration of legitimate public and private institutions by trafficking networks and organised crime groups.

Source: France Diplomatie — G7 leaders' declaration on the fight against drug trafficking, Jun 17 2026

As recently as October 9, the French presidency's G7 news page listed no update on the ports network, according to a status review of the two November deliverables — so Monday's announcement in Paris is the point at which the June deadline was publicly met, on the first day of the two-day G7 foreign ministers' meeting France is hosting.

Source: Reuters, Nov 9 2026

What is solid

  • France formally launched the G7+ ports network on Monday in Paris during the November 9-10 G7 foreign ministers' meeting — Reuters
  • The network covers 14 ports and brings together the G7 countries, Brazil, South Korea and the organisations Interpol, UNODC, the IMO and the World Customs Organization — Reuters
  • Barrot said the international dimension would bolster the Interior Ministry-led efforts against a problem that inflicts deep harm on society — Reuters
  • The network was promised in the G7 leaders' June 17 Evian declaration, which called maritime transport the primary vector for drug and precursor trafficking and set a November 2026 implementation deadline — France Diplomatie text of the declaration

What is only claimed

  • How the network will work in practice — which shipments get flagged, what intelligence is shared and with what safeguards — was not detailed in Monday's launch reporting; the June declaration's tools (an inventory of best practices, joint field visits, private-sector cooperation) are the stated model, not yet a published operating manual
  • Whether the companion November deliverable, the action plan against criminal infiltration of institutions, has also been completed was not stated in Monday's launch report

What happens next

The test now moves from announcement to operation: whether the 14 ports begin sharing intelligence in a common format, whether the promised inventory of best practices appears, and whether the anti-infiltration action plan that shared the November deadline is published alongside the network. For shipping and trade, the stakes are practical — ports that coordinate on narcotics routes also shape inspection patterns for ordinary cargo, including routes used by Indian and Gulf trade. The G7 ministers' meeting in Paris continues on Tuesday, November 10, where any further detail on how the alliance will run would normally be set out.