The Porte d'Aix district is in the process of being redeveloped. At the back of the triumphal arch which marks the entrance to the center of Marseille, the immaculate facade of the Mediterranean Institute of the City and Territories, inaugurated in October 2023, shines in the sun. Symbol of a renovation which intends to outline the town planning of a 21st century metropolise century. At the back of the building, the atmosphere changes. Hidden from view, a group of men and women squat on brand new stairs.
This wide passage is one of the new open-air drug consumption zones that have appeared in recent months in the heart of Marseille. Here, sitting or lying on the steps, we mainly smoke cocaine, previously prepared with ammonia, which the grocers in the city center sell for 5 euros a bottle. Artisanal crack, “patties” of “coke based”, in the users’ local jargon. We also inject it, as shown by the syringes that Romain Prod'homme, Florent Grénot and Luc Fabre collect with the tips of their green tweezers. Shorts, sneakers, in t-shirts or OM jerseys, these thirty-somethings who have accumulated several years of experience in the field of risk reduction provide one of the patrols of Bus 31/32, a historic support structure for drug users in Marseille.
This article is taken from “Special Issue Le Monde – Drug traffickers: their networks, their crimes, the response”November-December 2024, on sale at kiosks or online by visiting our store website.
Three times a week, like other associations, they go out to meet the realities of the street, greet the regulars by their first name – all have been changed in the article –, get news of their health, direct them in case of acute problem. To the new faces, like Ahmid, a young man dressed in sportswear who is about to smoke his crack in a discreet courtyard at the foot of the regional council, they explain their role, starting a dialogue. They distribute new equipment to everyone, to try to reduce the risk of contamination: glass pipes, plastic tips, filters to avoid inhaling the worst of the preparation, syringes for the “injectors”… « We also offer bicarbonate so that they stop using ammonia, which causes multiple pulmonary complications”explains Florent Grénot. A substitute product, less harmful but more difficult to use on a piece of sidewalk, which is not very attractive.
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