Published on November 14, 2024 at 7:30 p.m. / Modified on November 14, 2024 at 7:31 p.m.
For Mathilde Maillard, “we have chosen the camp of honest people, who respect the laws and who are bothered.” In the cellar of a brasserie located opposite the Place de la Riponne, the president of the Lausanne liberal-radicals describes “an open drug scene” and denounces “the failure of the policies carried out by the left”. Surrounded by elected officials from Vevey and Yverdon, she is preparing a legislative text intended to limit access to the secure consumption area of Riponne to only residents of the city, or even the region, as is the case in Berne. or in Zurich. According to her, “40% of drug addicts attracted by this offer have nothing to do on our streets.” Facing journalists, she insisted: “We want to return the city to its inhabitants.”
Open since the end of May, the Riponne consumption area records between 81 and 266 drug consumptions each day. It mostly involves crack inhaled in water pipes. According to initial figures, 56% of consumers reside in the region, and 13% in the canton. 15% come from further afield, sometimes even from neighboring France, and 15% did not provide any information. Municipal officer responsible for social cohesion, Emilie Moeschler concedes that “the situation is not satisfactory”. She says she is “attentive” to the question of the beneficiaries’ place of residence and has asked the foundation which manages the space to collect additional data. Mathilde Maillard sighs: “when I see the situation in the city, I doubt that this pilot project will make other municipalities want to open this type of infrastructure.”
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