"Drugs have changed": Faced with nuisances, Marseille residents demand the opening of shooting galleries

Resident groups and associations in Marseille are mobilizing against the consequences of drug use in the city center . Together, they signed a press release calling for an appropriate health and social policy, including the resumption of discussions to establish an Addiction Care Center, often called a "shooting gallery."

This Marseille resident is one of the signatories. The Marseille resident has dozens of photos and videos of people "shooting up live," for all to see. In one of them, a drugged individual threatens her.

These images bear witness to his increasingly deteriorating daily life. In recent months, the use of crack cocaine has been on the rise in downtown Marseille.

"I've never seen anything like it. They defecate between cars. They prick each other between cars. They have sex between cars," continues this disillusioned resident.

"For a little over a year, the product has changed, we're on crack and there's a change in users," says Aude, a member of the Belsunce collective in Marseille. As a result, syringes are littering the ground near schools .

And with drug use, insecurity has increased: "There are people who gather in parking lots or building lobbies to shoot up. This can lead to conflicts with aggressive people."

To improve the situation, the first resident is campaigning for better health and social care for users, which would involve the creation of an Addiction Care Center. However, she didn't approve of this system a few years ago: "I put it a bit like 'we allow people to take drugs now, it's a party'."

But today, she has completely changed her point of view: "When I understood what a shooting gallery was, an Addictions Treatment Center, even if there is one down the road from my house, I take it. We have to help these people, and by helping them, it will help us."

This project is also supported by Joachim Levy, director of the Nouvelle Aube association. "An Addiction Care Center is a place that will allow people to avoid using drugs in public spaces, to access screening and move toward the right to care, and to resume a real project toward society," he explains.

The associations are also calling for a better policy on access to housing for the most vulnerable, an essential point for getting off the streets.