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Video: The Wall of Shame – Why Crack Consumptions Rooms are Needed in Paris

28 April, 2022

An estimated thirteen thousand people use crack cocaine in the wider Paris region. Recently the police, who have been harassing the community over the last three decades, even built a wall to block people who use crack from the rest of society. This wall – an ugly and very physical manifestation of the authorities’ attempts to separate these crack users from the rest of society – has been nicknamed the Wall of Shame.

This new documentary, co-produced with DrugReporter and the French drug user union Autosupport des usagers de drogues (ASUD), explores the history of crack in Paris, and amplifies the voices of experts and residents who call for a better solution: safe crack consumption rooms. The video features interviews and discussions with:

Miguel Velazquez Gorsse and Fabrice Olivet, activists from ASUD;
Jéremy Constant, a local social worker;
Anne Souyris, Deputy Mayor of Paris for Health and Harm Reduction;
Elisabeth Avril, the manager of Gaïa, the Paris safe consumption room;
Kamel, a member of the community;
Nicholas Ubé, a local resident who supports the harm reduction approach.

Conception and coordination: Miguel Velazquez Gorsse | ASUD
Camera: Christophe Montaucieux
Editing and directing: István Gábor Takács | Rights Reporter Foundation | Drugreporter
Translation: Léo Lambert
Editing and translation assistance: Eszter Csernus