They feel abandoned by the public authorities. Three mayors from the north-east of Paris – François Dagnaud (19th), Karine Franclet (Aubervilliers) and Bertrand Kern (Pantin) – jointly denounced the “unacceptable situation” in which drug addicts were placed on September 24 in the square from the Porte de la Villette (19th).
“Three months that the” provisional “lasts and gets worse […] Three months of government radio silence. On the eve of Christmas, with the mayors of Pantin and Aubervilliers, we call on Emmanuel Macron, ”said the mayor of the 19th arrondissement of Paris, François Dagnaud, this Wednesday, December 22, announcing the launch of a petition addressed directly to the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron.
3 months that the “provisional” lasts and worsens at Square Forceval. 3 months of radio silence from @gouvernementFR. On Christmas Eve, with the Mayors of @CityofPantin and @ aubervilliers93, we call out @EmmanuelMacron. Give strength to our petition! https://t.co/uEq7JG5Y6K pic.twitter.com/L975QIFUl4
– François Dagnaud (@FrancoisDagnaud) December 22, 2021
“We are addressing you as a last resort, having received no response to the dramatic situation which has been unfolding for months at the square de la Porte de la Villette”, they write, denouncing the fate of these drug addicts, addicts to the crack, who live there in extreme precariousness.
For these people in great disgrace, the majority of whom are homeless and without resources, they therefore demand from Emmanuel Macron to put in place “a policy that honors the Republic”, and this, at the same time “when the nights are rainy and temperatures are dropping ”.
“Requisition certain vacant places”
“This policy must aim to provide medical, health and social care for all crack users. If the hospitals are not able to provide the necessary beds, then have the courage to requisition certain vacant places to turn them into care and accommodation centers on a human scale, and thus embark on an exit route from addiction ”, can we read about this petition posted on change.org.
As a reminder, on September 24, the Paris Police Prefecture (PP) issued an order, at the request of the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin, in order to move drug addicts, who have become too cumbersome around the Jardins d’Eole and from rue Riquet (18th), to the square de la Porte de la Villette (19th), on the other side of the ring road. An installation supposed to be “temporary”.
Nearly 200 people – “drug users and dealers” combined according to the three mayors concerned – have thus been installed at the gates of Seine-Saint-Denis (93), “in direct proximity to the municipalities of Aubervilliers and Pantin” . “It is curious that, when it is necessary to move away from people causing nuisance, the proximity of cities of Seine-Saint-Denis seems to be an advantage more than a problem”, regret the 3 elected officials.
They wonder: “why yet another trip? In any case, on September 24, no one among the local elected officials had been deemed worthy of being informed of this decision and everyone was confronted with a fait accompli ”. In October, the Paris administrative court had also rejected the emergency appeal filed by Karine Franclet and Bertrand Kern, contesting this trip.