The headlights of a car illuminate some bushes set back from the path. The silence lasts, before being interrupted by a female voice with an angry intonation. The words she speaks are inaudible. A few minutes later, a shadow comes out of the grove. He’s a man. He approaches the vehicle, glances furtively around him, then gets into the car before disappearing into the night. Client of a prostitute? Pimp? Drug dealer? He could be one of the three. It’s 2 a.m. on Allée de la Reine-Marguerite, one of the busiest in the woods.
Cars travel at high speed, a few pedestrians walk on the side of the road, hidden under hoods or caps, their phone flash light on. Despite the coolness of the night, and the wind that shakes the trees, the Bois de Boulogne and its 800 hectares of vegetation change after 9 p.m. Prostitutes, transvestites, pimps or drug dealers, the bucolic parks and enchanting alleys give way to a gloomy atmosphere.
A protean delinquency gathers in the Bois de Boulogne
Since Philippine’s murder, police patrols have intensified in the Bois de Boulogne. “We were asked to patrol night and day, to control “zoners” or suspicious drivers”explains the member of a Security and Intervention Company (CSI) in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. “It’s quite calm, the weather is bad and our presence is noticed”deciphers the policeman. A relative serenity prevailed again. According to our information, nearly fifty people were checked in or around the woods, without any arrests taking place.
But the dramatic death of Philippine, in the middle of the day, greatly worries the 16th arrondissement, an affluent district renowned as one of the quietest in the capital. Julie, a law student, has just moved there: “I was thinking of going for a run in the woods after class, I realize that’s a very bad idea”confides the 22-year-old girl, appalled by the murder of the one who could have “to be a friend or a sister”. Simona is 43 years old. Originally from Bulgaria, she came to settle in Paris around ten years ago. She is a dog-sitter for the neighborhood dogs. “The real problem in the Bois de Boulogne,” she explains, “is the zonards who don’t just hang out there at night but all day long. Two weeks ago, one of them’s dog stole the ball from one of the dogs I was walking. When I simply and kindly asked its owner to take it back, he told me to try it myself, then he insulted me! »
Formerly an integral part of the Rouvray forest, the Bois de Boulogne served as a hideout for bandits during the medieval period. Developed and reforested under Napoleon III, it became a space for relaxation and walking for the Parisian elite. Until becoming a hub for prostitution. Today, the Bois de Boulogne brings together a protean delinquency, “largely focused on pimping”explains Djassim Belkourchia, union representative at Alliance Police in the 16th arrondissement. “Many prostitutes take drugs while they work. Some customers too. It brings drug dealers into the woods or surrounding areas. Sometimes transactions go wrong and the situation escalates”specifies the official.
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In addition to prostitution activities, there are those of drug addicts, taking advantage of this discreet place to consume their drugs. Day and night. “When it gets dark, the wood really transforms. There are a lot of cars, shady people passing through.”relates Djassim Belkourchia. According to him, prostitution is at the heart of the problem. “There are hundreds of clients every night who come to see prostitutes, all this traffic hinders our surveillance. Remove prostitution, and we will be able to target suspicious activities in the woods with much greater precision! »
Situation explosive
Little or no lighting, not monitored at night, the Bois de Boulogne has become the thorn in the side of the town hall of the 16th arrondissement. “We only come when we are called,” confides a municipal police officer. Often for fights between migrants. » Insecurity which ended up contaminating the days as well…
Since 2016, an emergency accommodation center has opened on the edge of the woods. Some local residents immediately point to it as the cause of the increase in insecurity. “They talk about a center for the homeless but almost all of the occupants are undocumented immigrantssays a local restaurateur. No additional security measures were taken. The surroundings of the center are dirty, there are trash bags everywhere, everyone is pissed here! »
Explosive, the situation forces the 16th arrondissement town hall to step up to the plate. The barbarism that took over Philippine shines the spotlight on an under-addressed problem. Contacted by the JDD, the district mayor Jérémy Redler (LR) ensures that his priority is to restore the Bois de Boulogne to a space of tranquility: “I asked the Paris town hall for the creation of a municipal police brigade specializing in securing wood as well as the multiplication of surveillance cameras. » Jérémy Redler would also like to light the woods at night, but the “environmentalists are opposed to it”. “We also created a Bois de Boulogne neighborhood council, despite initial opposition from Paris town hall. We talk about dirt, insecurity and we work together to find solutions. But I think it is important to remember that the reason for Philippine’s murder was not the Bois de Boulogne, but an administrative failure of the state. The law was not applied. »
