France, March 11 -- Two officers from the Portes-les-Valence local police station set out on their daily patrol. Driving through the town's known hotspots, they pass school gates and certain residential entrances.

"We have seen a slight increase in drug dealing and in gatherings of young people who are not necessarily using drugs but who can create a sense of insecurity," one of the officers explains.

"We are also seeing a rise in urban rodeos, particularly now that electric motocross bikes are more common. You cannot hear them coming, but they cause the same problems," his colleague adds.

Although the town is the safest in the department's police zone, all three candidates in the local elections have made security a central theme of t...