Drug addicts cleared from Paris neighborhood by 200 officers, minister awaiting relocation proposals

French police have cleared dozens of homeless drug addicts from an area of the capital, after residents and the mayor complained about the inaction of law enforcement. It is uncertain where they will be relocated.

On Friday morning, police entered the Jardins d'Éole and Stalingrad areas of Paris to remove dozens of drug addicts who had taken up residence in a park and on nearby streets. “The fight against drugs is a daily struggle and I have heard the anger of the residents,” interior minister Gerald Darmanin said in a tweet. 

RT France reported that more than 200 police officers were mobilized for the operation, with law enforcement transporting addicts by bus to the Porte de la Villette square. Porte de la Villette is not far from the Jardins d'Éole and still within the Boulevard Périphérique – a road that roughly follows the administrative boundaries of the city. 

Darmanin said he had spoken to Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo who, earlier in the week, had complained about police inaction as residents grew more and more frustrated about the presence of drug-takers in their neighborhood.

Speaking to BFM TV, the minister said he had instructed police to hold their ground in the area to ensure the addicts did not return in the coming days. “Today, drug addicts are in another place where there are no residents nearby,” Darmanin stated, adding that he was awaiting proposals as to where they could be taken. 

Emmanuel Grégoire, who is in charge of town planning in the City of Paris administration, said he wanted to find “a lasting solution” in order to avoid simply creating a new ‘Crack Hill’ in the capital. Until 2019, the northeastern neighborhood of Porte de la Chapelle was home to a wasteland known by that name that became a notorious meeting point for addicts.

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