Saturday, the prefect of the Ile-de-France region, Marc Guillaume, and the Paris police prefect, Didier Lallement, justified in a letter to the mayor of Paris the movement of crack users to a “
temporary
” place.
A letter that intervenes in a climate of tension, while about fifty drug addicts were again moved Friday from the surroundings of the gardens of Éole to the Place Auguste Baron on the edge of the ring road between Paris and Seine-Saint-Denis.
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The event gave rise to yet another pass of arms between, on the one hand the town hall and, on the other hand, the Prefecture of Police and the Ministry of the Interior, concerning the management of this thorny problem. "
We would have preferred a better coordinated evacuation with shelter,
" said Emmanuel Grégoire, first assistant to Ms. Hidalgo. "
Moreover, we are asking for an urgent meeting of the competent public authorities (PP, mayor of Paris, regional prefecture, regional health agency, Editor's note) to ensure that the displacement of the scene does not reconstitute a + crack hill + elsewhere
”.
In their letter, MM.
Guillaume and Lallement argue that the presence of crack users on rue Riquet "
in the immediate vicinity of many residents of schools
" is "
untenable
".
"
We are at your disposal to work as quickly as possible on the proposals for places that you will send us as well as to the Regional Health Agency of Ile de France in order to allow their opening in the coming weeks
".
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They underline that, in parallel with the fight against drug trafficking, "
the medico-social support for crack users has been greatly amplified
" with a "
strengthening of medico-social patrols and the opening of 400 accommodation places.
". They intend to respond to criticisms according to which the State and the Prefect of Police do not deal with the whole problem of crack.
They also justify the construction of a wall blocking a tunnel between Paris and Pantin, in order to prevent crack users from going to Seine-Saint-Denis.
This wall is "
an essential protection of the inhabitants of Pantin
", they write, adding that the Paris police headquarters "
will ensure the security of the inhabitants of Paris and Seine-Saint-Denis
".