Place Stalingrad, on the Bassin de la Villette or Avenue de Flandre (Paris, 19th arrondissement), the nights follow and resemble each other: disturbed.
In the district, the victims of insomnia who responded to the survey of the Right to Sleep collective, carried out in September 2020, point to users of crack cocaine, the drug which is wreaking havoc in the north-east as the primary source of nighttime nuisance is Parisian.
“We know no respite, sighs Aurélie, a young mother.
Every night, there are cries, even howls, fights just at the foot of buildings.
For a long time, it woke me up with a start, and now the fear of hearing them is really preventing me from falling asleep.
It's a hellish cycle.
An eternal restart ... We are at home, confined, while drug addicts have taken possession of public space.
"
As at the tram stop, Porte d'Aubervilliers.
There again, drug addicts: “They break bottles, take drugs on the benches and in the public toilets, assures a local resident questioned by Droit au Sommeil.
It happens that the evenings start well, then, suddenly, around 2 or 3 in the morning, you hear screams, and it's like that up to four nights a week.
We can't take it anymore.
We contact the town hall, the police, who intervene permanently and hunt drug addicts.
But they keep coming back.
"
"The district becomes unlivable because it is dedicated to the party"
On the outskirts of the Place de la Chapelle, straddling the 10th and 18th arrondissements, traffickers and alcoholic men have also taken possession of the premises, classified as "Republican reconquest district".
“At night,” explains a resident of Boulevard de la Chapelle, “groups of men gather to drink, with loud music.
It is very disturbing not to be able to close your eyes, and just as much to see this situation continue.
"
A little further on, the Canal Saint-Martin (10th arrondissement), its festive tradition… and its drawbacks.
“The neighborhood becomes unlivable because it is dedicated to parties and alcohol.
In the past, at the foot of my building, explains a resident, there was only one small bar, little frequented, which closed at midnight.
Now, there are two establishments that remain open until 2 a.m., and, before containment, occupied temporary terraces beyond the 10 p.m. regulation.
"
“Likewise, continues this local resident, rue des Récollets which goes from the canal to the Gare de l'Est, the drunken revelers vociferated loudly… And the 24-hour opening of the Villemin garden last summer was also a source of nuisance. nocturnal events that we have all experienced.
"
"It would be so good to find a happy medium"
Just last summer, in the heart of the Marais, the controversy seized the Place du Marché-Sainte-Catherine (4th) and its seven ephemeral terraces, described as too numerous, noisy, invading by exasperated residents.
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“We are far from preventing people from having fun,” recalls one of them, “but the situation was frankly stressful.
Abuse, coupled with a total disrespect of the inhabitants who still have the right to a little rest, right?
Frankly, in the center, we hope for the reopening of the establishments that make up the life of the district ... As much as we fear the possible overflows to come.
It would be so good to find a happy medium that works for everyone.
"
