Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said on Friday that he "hoped" nitrous oxide would be added to the list of narcotics and confirmed that the government was working on strict regulation of this substance.
"I want nitrous oxide to be seen as a drug" and classified as a narcotic, the Minister of Justice declared on BFMTV/RMC the day after his meeting, alongside Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, with the mother of Mathis, 19, who was fatally struck by a motorist under the influence of nitrous oxide.
Used in medicine and cooking, the sale of this substance, nicknamed "laughing gas," is theoretically prohibited to minors and in certain locations since 2021, but unless local regulations dictate otherwise, it remains legal. One of the side effects of this product is a loss of control in its users.
Laurent Nuñez, speaking on RTL, mentioned measures to be put in place such as the prohibition of having a "misuse" of nitrous oxide, "for euphoric use, like a drug", recalling the existence of draft laws on the subject in Parliament.
Although it is "not classified on the list of narcotics", nitrous oxide will be "in certain uses" "treated as a drug", the Interior Minister stated.
He specifically mentioned the possibility of "being able to close businesses that sell it improperly and, above all, to prohibit the wearing, transport and consumption of it in public places in a generalized manner throughout the national territory."
On November 1st, Mathis was killed in Lille by a driver who had consumed nitrous oxide and was trying to flee from the police.
On Thursday, his relatives called on the government to restrict the sale and purchase of nitrous oxide "to professionals authorized by decree only, upon presentation of supporting documents, by specialized resellers," according to a statement from the parents' lawyer, Antoine Régley.
Gérald Darmanin also declared himself in favour of banning the consumption of nitrous oxide while driving and of seizing the vehicle if this substance is found in the passenger compartment.
"And I hope that this will be an aggravating circumstance when there are accidents and when there are involuntary killings," the minister continued, referring to the law creating the offense of road homicide promulgated in July.
According to an Ipsos survey by the Vinci Autoroutes Foundation published in October (on 2,256 people), one in ten young people under 35 has already consumed nitrous oxide in the evening, and half of them have already done so while driving.
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