Paris politician Bernard Debré, the deputy of the National Assembly of France and a member of the Union for a Popular Movement in Paris, has stated that Bitcoin should be banned in the city.
Debré, a urologist and aerospace medicine specialist by profession, participated in a French-based survey published by Current Values magazine which revealed the ease of buying drugs online with help of cryptocurrency. Due to this, the politician now believes that bitcoins should be banned in the city in order to curb the risk of drug trafficking, Debré’s website reported.
The French national is of the opinion that online drug sites, many of which are ‘often hosted in the Netherlands,’ need to be shut down. Since the Paris attacks many of the region’s bureaucrats have hardened their stance when it comes to encryption techniques. Many, including Debré, believe that by banning Bitcoin it will end the illegal activities that Parisians are potentially taking part in.
Debré was questioned by the Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve on what could be done to solve the ease of obtaining illegal substances online with virtual currency. As a solution to this, the surgeon doctor has asked ban on bitcoins and the closure of drug sales sites.
He also said that La Maison du Bitcoin (House of Bitcoin) should be shut down in the French capital and believes that the move would stop the cryptocurrency operations in the city.
While Bernard Debré is very opinionated about drug use and is calling for a parliamentary commission on the issue, it seems unlikely that the French politician has enough sway to ban Bitcoin in Paris completely.
