“We are above all a decompression valve” – Libération

The thermometer barely reaches 5 degrees. Diego and Hugo, employees of the “risk reduction” team of the Charonne association, begin their marauding. Head to the linear forest, in the north of the 19th arrondissement of Paris, which adjoins the Saint-Denis canal. A mixture of vegetation and earth turned to mud by the downpours. With a backpack filled with compresses, wipes and condoms, the two thirty-somethings are “going towards”. In other words: they go to meet crack users, who have found in this marginal space, split in two by the ring road, a place to buy, consume, or simply wander. An isolated place, where the vegetation left abandoned offers a space sheltered from prying eyes, in particular for its northern part which makes this area “cut-throat and insecure, especially for female consumers”, Diego alerts. Temperature obliges, along the muddy path which crosses the thickets, “the first campfires have appeared”, notes Hugo. Around, seated on logs, users warm up as best they can.

Since the 1980s, Parisian crack users have continued to travel back and forth between different points of consumption, mainly in the north-east of the capital, between Stalingrad, Porte de la Chapelle, the Jardin d'Eole, or the square Forceval, evacuated in October 2022. Since then, no large-scale encampment has been recreated, leaving this marginalized population in even greater isolation. A phenomenon further amplified in 2024 with the policy of invisibility carried out in view of the Olympic and Paralympic Games: a police presence and intensified controls have forced users to be in constant movement. Further complicating the work of the marauding teams who “lost sight of some people”, explain Diego

Escape from everyday life

Creating a social bond is the mission of the Charonne walking maraude. Diego and Hugo wander around, observe, come across a regular, inquire about his situation. “Where are you sleeping at the moment?” Answers vary. Some are housed by Assore, a shelter system in several hotels in Ile-de-France. Others are on the streets here and there. A few live in the linear forest.

Then the two men meet Sandrine (1) and Nadège (1). They talk about their daily lives, their damaged lives. Faces close, eyes glaze over. Sandrine says she was assaulted by medical staff during treatment for a head injury. A situation “far from being trivial” deplores Diego: crack users are also stigmatized in the medical environment, which worsens their isolation and puts them in danger. Some “no longer dare to seek treatment”, and see their health deteriorate. A vicious circle that can lead to the worst, as with this “former regular who died of tuberculosis less than a year ago, due to lack of care”, remembers Diego.

This stigmatization is due to a lack of awareness among the general public. So, while Diego and Hugo are in the linear forest, Anaëlle and Nolwenn, two other members of the team, are marauding to meet the residents of the Rosa Parks district. Mediation, “this is also our role”, explains Nolwenn. Consumers are above all people in great precariousness, marginalized, some suffering from psychiatric disorders, with difficult life histories. So the crack “is not the problem, but a solution found by users to escape their daily lives for a moment”, Martele Diego.

“Political courage”

After a good quarter of an hour of conversation, Nadège concludes: “Thank you, it was good talking to you.” Hugo contextualise : “We are above all a decompression valve.” Further on, he and Diego come across the truck of the Gaïa association, which distributes consumer equipment, as well as the Homeless Assistance Unit, a municipal structure made up of social workers. They talk, get news from the regulars: “Have you seen Aden (1)?” With the users, everyone finds themselves in a heterogeneous mix, where laughter and smiles are a snub to the vegetation left abandoned and the mud which covers the shoes. Hugo and Diego introduce themselves to newcomers and redirect users to structures that can support them, such as reception and harm reduction support centers for drug users. The Charonne association manages three. Surrounded by educators, users can rest, shower and are helped with their administrative procedures. Diego underlines the limits of these devices: “The people who don’t come are often those who are the most on the margins, some with serious psychological problems.”

To be able to intensify aid to consumers, the next step would be to establish “several inhalation rooms”, Diego explains. One way “to regulate consumption in a healthy space”, while breaking the isolation suffered by users and thus “get out of their routine where drugs are their only prospect”. But as with all public health strategies that address drug use, this “requires political courage”, notes Anaëlle.

(1) First names have been changed.