Crack in Paris: the police evacuate the sectors of the gardens of Eole and Stalingrad

The Paris Police Prefecture announced in a press release, Friday September 24, having decided, at the request of the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, to“Evacuate drug addicts from the sectors of the gardens of Eole and Stalingrad”, in the north-east of Paris, which constitute fixing points for crack users in the capital and fuel tensions with residents of the 19e arrondissement for several months. “The fight against drugs is a daily fight and I have heard the anger of the residents”, commented at the same time on Twitter, Mr. Darmanin.

“An operation is taking place to bring these people together on the outskirts of Place Auguste-Baron, Porte de la Villette, in a neighborhood without residents in the immediate vicinity. [Le préfet de police] requisitioned the services of the City of Paris to provide this place with access to water and sanitation for these people ”, can we read in the press release.

“Large open-air crack market”

Tuesday, September 21, the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo (Socialist Party), went to the Eole gardens to ask the interior ministry to put an end to “A large open-air crack market”. “This situation has lasted too long”, said the elected socialist when arriving at rue Riquet, where there were more than a hundred drug addicts. The latter have acquired the habit of consuming there since, in mid-May, the Prefecture of Police and the City of Paris agreed to group them together in the northern part of the Eole Gardens, in order to relieve the neighboring district of Stalingrad.

But at the end of June, Mme Hidalgo had decided to put an end to this temporary situation by prohibiting crack users from entering the park, so that the inhabitants could regain possession of it. “It had a perverse effect: they gathered outside”, she admitted, but “The fact of leaving a large open-air crack market in the total tolerance of the police authorities, it is not acceptable”, added the mayor of Paris to the prefect of police, Didier Lallement.

In his press release, Mr. Lallement said to himself “Conscious” that the evacuation in progress constitutes a solution ” temporary “, but think she is “Necessary because it involves an occupation of public space less penalizing than that of rue Riquet”. The operation has been decided “Pending the concrete establishment of reception rooms by the City of Paris, and the strengthening of health and social care which must provide a structural response to reduce the presence of crack users in the public space “, explains the police headquarters. For several months, some residents have opposed the opening of lower risk consumption rooms near their homes.

The World with AFP



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