The opposition of residents of Boulevard de la Chapelle (Paris Xe) paid off. The first French shooting room will be backed by the Lariboisière Hospital, located in the same arrondissement.
On the evening of April 7, 2015, the French deputies of the National Assembly adopted article 9 of the Health Bill which provides for a six-year experiment for “lower risk consumption rooms” (SCMR). More often called “shooting rooms”, the first experiment will begin on the grounds of the Lariboisière Hospital in the 10th district of Paris.
The abandoned Boulevard de la Chapelle establishment
It is the mayor of the district, Rémi Féraud (PS), as well as the deputy mayor of Paris in charge of Health (Bernard Jomier) who announced it on a daily basis. The world this Monday, May 25. “Two or three possible locations are being considered in the hospital, for this lower-risk drug consumption room, but the final location has not yet been decided,” Mr. Féraud told Agence France Presse ( AFP).
“The old planned establishment (boulevard de la Chapelle), criticized in particular by residents, has been abandoned for problems of isolation and difficulties of access,” he added, specifying that the place would be moved by 200 meters only. “
In the hospital, but with a separate entrance
In more detail, Dr. Bernard Jomier for his part told AFP that “it is a health device that we will back to the hospital”, even if its access will not be through the large main door , but in a more discreet way, on the side. “
An announcement confirmed by the Assistance publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) which told the newspaper The world work with the city of Paris to be able to accommodate this center: “the discussions relate to the location in the Lariboisière Hospital which is the most suitable”. Two locations are currently under study, one in “hard” and the other in Algeco (modular construction), with an area of 200 m2 each time.
For Parisian elected officials, this collaboration with the hospital underlines that the new location chosen “clearly indicates that it is a public health problem”, recalling that the project aims to respond to the risk of infection (HIV, hepatitis, etc.) in drug users.
Start in the first quarter of 2016?
On the calendar side, Dr. Jomier considered it “illusory” to consider opening the room before the end of 2015, but estimated that, if the texts examined in Parliament (Senate in September and October then National Assembly) on the subject were voted on, the project could start to be implemented in the first quarter of 2016.
After this date, two other cities are also approached to host these shooting rooms. These are Bordeaux and Strasbourg, even if nothing has been decided yet since we do not even know the opening date of the Parisian room.
As a reminder, these rooms, already tested in ten other countries (the oldest in Switzerland was created thirty years ago), are intended for precarious adult drug addicts, who take drugs in precarious hygienic conditions, often in the street or building halls.
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