In Stalingrad, the inhabitants assure that “as soon as the security agents leave, the drug addicts will return”

It is a scene from ordinary life that nevertheless seems almost extraordinary. This Monday afternoon, on the playground set up in the middle of the Jardins d’Eole, on the edge of the 18th and 20th arrondissements, about fifteen kids are enjoying the few rays of sunshine at the end of the day. Some multiply the slides on the slide, others wait for the swing. Three months after the mayor’s decision of Paris to evacuate the 150 to 200 crack addicts who spent their days and part of their nights in the park, the police headquarters carried out a new operation on Friday, this time targeting to take those who wandered around the garden to the Place Auguste-Baron, a stone’s throw from the Porte de la Villette.

“Right now it’s calm, I don’t know how long it will last so let’s enjoy it,” Hakima smiles, sitting at a picnic table with her two children. If a few kilometers away, the inhabitants of north-eastern Paris but also Aubervilliers and Pantin are mobilizing to denounce the choice of the authorities, she relishes the peace of mind. “I understand that they are angry, it is not a gift that we give them”, she breathes. Like many residents, the lull is, in his eyes, only temporary. “I am not sure that sending them to another district will permanently solve the problem, estimates Carmen, who lives two streets from the Jardins d’Eole. When the security guards leave, the drug addicts will come back. “For now, the park is under high protection, all entrances have been padlocked except the main one, guarded by six officers in uniform.

“We provide a repressive response to a health and social question”

Sociologist Marie Jauffret-Roustide, researcher at Inserm and author of a study conducted with the French Office for Drugs and Drug Addiction between 2018 and 2020 on crack in Paris, is also doubtful about the choice of the authorities. “Everyone agreed that the situation in Eole was becoming untenable, but it has been twenty years since instead of solving the problem, we move it, that we provide a repressive response to a health and social issue. “And to list the evacuation of crack hill in 2019, of the Rosa-Parks tunnel a few months later, from Place Stalingrad towards Eole in the spring …” By systematically opting for temporary solutions – as is again the case – you amplify the problem, she continues. These displacements of population exhaust users, undermine the work of associations and despair local residents tired by the effect of repetition. “

If drug addicts have disappeared from the Jardins d’Eole, they are still very present in the neighborhood. In the evening, and despite an extraordinary police presence since Friday, several dozen have already resumed their habits around Stalingrad Square. “We feel a change because there are still less than before but they remain present in the neighborhood, says Amandine, pushing her son’s scooter on the Quai de Flandres. Look for yourself… ”And to point out this man lying on the edge of the quay, two steps from the cinema, or this group of five drug addicts who smoke around a bench. She only dreams of one thing, moving, after being assaulted several times, both verbally and physically. “But the real estate agent tells us that our apartment has lost a lot of value because of the situation and I’m not sure how it can improve. “

Shooting rooms arouse the concern of residents

Arlette also struggles to see “the end of the tunnel”. She has been living in the neighborhood for nearly forty years and has seen other evacuations. So much so that she is convinced, “this problem will go away long after” her. This time, however, the situation is different: after a standoff with the Paris town hall all summer, the government gave its agreement in mid-September for the creation of reception centers. The installation of “crackers” at Porte de la Villette is only temporary, until the opening of these places. “This is a big step forward in the debate, provided that this is followed by facts,” said Marie Jauffret-Roustide, who has been arguing for several years for a multidisciplinary approach to the management of crack. “When users do not consume in the street, they tend to better regulate their consumption. These rooms are therefore in the interest of users and residents. “

A point of view far from unanimous in the neighborhood. Of the four places proposed by the mayor of Paris, one of them, in the 20th arrondissement has already been abandoned, deemed unsuitable. And the others arouse a lively dispute. “Why do we have this problem and not Parc Monceau? We are told that we have to put shooting rooms next to consumers, but we are able to send them several kilometers away when it suits the authorities, ”plague Saïd, in his thirties. Like him, few people interviewed this afternoon say they are in favor of hosting such a room. A demonstration is even planned in the neighborhood on Saturday to denounce the creation of this type of place. The temporary solution could therefore drag on forever.

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