Summary: Over the last past few years, Mauritania, like other countries in the region, has had a substantial increase in trafficking on its soil, notably with drugs. Far from just being a phenomenon on the margins, trafficking and the "grey economy" should not be perceived as excluded from statehood. Direct or indirect control is a political tool for the first circles of power.

Alain Antil is the Head of Ifri's Sub-Saharan Africa program. He teaches at the Institut d"Etudes Politiques of Lille and at the Institut Supérieur Technique Outre Mer. He holds a PhD in political geography from the University of Rouen.

This content is published in French: Contrôler les trafics ou perdre le Nord. Notes sur les trafics en Mauritanie