Be careful, squatting in a building hall may now be expensive for some.
From this Tuesday, October 19, the police officers working in "the jurisdiction of the court of Créteil", as specified by the Ministry of Justice, that is to say in the whole of Val-de-Marne, will be able to draw up two new fixed tort fines (AFD), during a test phase which should last until January 14.
In addition to the Créteil court, this experiment will take place in Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine), Foix (Ariège), Lille (Nord), Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône) and Reims (Marne).
The first fine relates to "the illegal occupation of a common part of a collective building".
Clearly, the people, at least two in number, who “occupy the common spaces (most often the halls) or the roofs of apartment buildings by deliberately preventing access or the free movement of people or the right operation of security devices ”, as explained by the Rennes public prosecutor when the experiment was announced last May.
The second targets illicit installations on the land of others.
" It's a good idea.
It's even urgent ”
Clémentine, a resident of the Choux towers district in Créteil
The first AFD clearly places spotters and squatters in the crosshairs of the police.
As for cannabis consumers, the police will be able to verbalize quite simply any offenders, with the amount of the fine set at 200 euros, reduced to 150 euros and increased to 450 euros.
For the second, the fine is 500 euros, reduced to 400 and increased to 1,000 euros.
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It is also an alternative to legal proceedings concerning the offenses of occupying the halls of buildings, which are rather long and, in fact, little used by the police.
Those found guilty may be punished with penalties of up to two months in prison and a fine of 3,750 euros.
Small concern, "they are very complex to prove in the facts", notes a police officer.
According to figures provided by the Paris police headquarters, throughout Val-de-Marne, for the first ten months of the year, only 6 offenses were noted against 14 over the same period the previous year.
In 2020, a total of 14 facts were recorded, against 37 for 2019 and 7 for 2018. Clearly, this procedure remained and remains rather marginal.
So the arrival of these AFDs, “it's a good idea.
It's even urgent, ”spontaneously blurted out Clémentine, a resident of a tower on rue Pablo-Picasso, facing Les Choux, these well-recognizable buildings in the heart of Créteil.
"Even if for me it won't change anything, I'm leaving!"
For this resident of the city-prefecture for twenty-seven years, the cup is full.
“Frankly, it's a hassle.
Dealers control the area, the surroundings of buildings, she explains between two boxes loaded in a delivery van.
Moreover, they are more around the halls than inside.
"
" Almonds ?
The police should already pass ”
Patrick, who lives in the Choux towers district in Créteil
Alain, a neighbor, does not see where the problem lies.
"If we don't take care of what they're doing, they won't come and piss us off," he says.
" That's it.
You have to look at your shoes, retorts Clémentine, exhausted.
That's why I'm leaving!
"But madam, even in small towns, it's the same thing," says Alain.
It's everywhere.
"
A few meters away, Patrick walks his dog quietly in the neighborhood: “It's a bit early there.
You have to come in the afternoon and around 8 p.m., a lot of their clients come by after work, explains the walker, thinking that we are looking to buy drugs, before changing their minds.
Almonds ?
The police should already pass because we don't see them often or in the morning when there is no one there.
"
In the district, paradoxically, the buildings most affected are located a stone's throw from the Créteil courthouse, whose imposing silhouette dominates the towers of the district.
"It's more on this side than it deals, not necessarily in the halls, but in the parking lots," decrypts a local resident who returns to one of the Choux towers.
To impose fines, the police will have to be faster than the lookouts.
"
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Indeed, the closer we get to the Palais gallery, the more deal points we find. “They are not very aggressive,” notes a local resident. “Finally, we must not trivialize, even if in our building, it's quiet, says a mother who does not hide her concern for her children. At the end of the day, avoid leaving them lying around. "Clearly, depending on where you live, it can quickly be more complicated," says Christophe, who immediately points to the points of resale of cannabis resin in the neighborhood. “Here, it's calm but 50 m further on, on the other side of this tower, the situation is not the same. "
"Anyway, they have the impression of being at home", notes Stéphane, a resident of another district of Créteil, before wondering: "The police receive stones on the head during certain interventions then how are they going to set a fine?
"This will put pressure on them, hopes Monique, before adding: They may very quickly go elsewhere and that will shift the problem.
"
"In fact, we could be fined for anything and everything"
Salma, resident of Créteil
This fine also raises concerns on the part of other residents.
“Concretely, there, there are three of us in the hall to discuss.
We can therefore be fined!
It's embarrassing, ”says Alain, whose surroundings of his building attract drug dealers at the end of the day.
"In fact, we could be fined for anything and everything", does not return Salma who lives in another district, "very quiet", of the city-prefecture.
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“This will ignite the powder.
If it rains and there are two or three of us in a hall, we risk being fined just because we're young, Albelrahman can't believe it.
And I'm not talking about a deal but just a simple discussion.
It's weird and very intrusive.
"
