Doctors of the World, supported by other associations, announced on Monday that it was suing the government for its "inaction," or even its "obstruction," regarding "addiction treatment centers," commonly known as "shooting galleries," a system whose future appears uncertain.
Created in 2016, the two "low-risk consumption rooms," now called "addiction treatment centers" (HSA), in France, in Paris and Strasbourg, are aimed at the most disadvantaged people excluded from the healthcare system. Their pilot project is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.
Concerned about the fate of this system, the NGO Médecins du Monde has decided to sue the French government "for inaction by launching two legal actions," declared Céline Debaulieu, its harm reduction advisor, to the press.
"With a national focus and co-signed by the Addictions Federation," "the first (appeal) concerns the sustainability of addiction care centers" and the second, "co-signed by AIDES, concerns Marseille, where it was impossible in January 2024 to complete an addiction care center project," she explained.
For the applicants, the "inaction" of the public authorities, "or even their obstruction, in the face of the creation of addiction treatment centers causes harm and constitutes negligence," at the expense of the health of drug users.
After "friendly letters" to the Ministry of Health that remained unanswered within the given time limit, the first appeal, "for lack of action", is "historic" on this public health issue, affirmed Me Vincent Brengarth.
"The Ministry of Health will have to justify its policy," and the hope is then to obtain "a decision from the administrative court" within "12 to 18 months," the lawyer said, adding that the national judgment, with its "important symbolic dimension," could "injunct specific measures."
The second appeal seeks "the annulment of the implicit refusal not to open an HSA in Marseille," following "political obstruction," he said. The judge could "order the ministry to open an HSA if he considers there has been a clear breach and, at the very least, reexamine the request."
– “Urgent” –
For the associations behind the procedure, addiction care centers have "proven their effectiveness": they "offer care services, social monitoring, accommodation, and reduce the risks associated with consumption."
They argue that "various reports, including those requested by the government," the latest in the fall of 2024, "highlight the need to integrate this system into common law."
According to the Public Health Code, these centers are "one of the mechanisms ensuring the continuum of care," noted Catherine Delorme, president of the Addictions Federation.
They "reduce the risks directly linked to consumption but also the medical and social consequences of this severe addiction in situations of great precariousness," explained Dr. Elisabeth Avril, director of the Gaïa association, which manages the Parisian hall, also mentioning "an improvement in public tranquility."
"Securing public spaces" is one of the concerns of caregivers defending these places, adds Ms. Delorme.
In Marseille, although approved by various health stakeholders, including the Regional Health Agency and the AP-HM, the addiction care center project fell victim to "a political decision," according to the applicants, pointing to "a textbook case" of "failures."
In February 2024, Marseille resident Sabrina Agresti-Roubache, then Secretary of State for the City, congratulated herself on having "succeeded in stopping the installation of a shooting gallery in Marseille," Ms. Debaulieu recalled.
However, France's second largest city is experiencing "a truly worrying increase in the number of street drug users," including 1,500 to 2,000, "in a dramatic situation," in the city center alone, declared Antoine Henry, president of the Asud association, on Monday during a press conference of a collective of organizations defending a Marseille venue.
Deeming the situation "increasingly urgent," Michèle Rubirola, Marseille's first deputy mayor in charge of health, told AFP that she was "being harassed by people who say 'there are syringes everywhere in the city, what are we doing?'."
"If we had introduced the addiction treatment center, there would be fewer syringes, fewer people injecting themselves in the street in full view of schoolchildren passing by in the city center..." she said, deploring the suspension after "the exploitation of opponents."
There are approximately 80 addiction treatment centers in Europe, including 24 in Germany. Among our neighbors, Dr. Avril affirmed, "it's no longer a debate, it's a tool."
English 
French