Berliner Tageblatt - Cocaine use nearly doubles in France: study

By comparison, the French Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (OFDT) earlier estimated annual cocaine consumption in the country at 600,000 users when it released its previous report in 2022.

France now ranks 7th in Europe in terms of cocaine consumption.

A number of factors are behind the explosive consumption growth, including record levels of global cocaine production and the drug's changing image.

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Colombia, Peru and Bolivia -- the world's three biggest cocaine cultivators -- produced 2,700 tonnes of the rug in 2022, compared with 1,134 tonnes in 2010.

Another factor behind the growing use is "the evolution of working conditions," with people using cocaine to cope with intense workloads (for example, in the catering industry) or tough working conditions (in the fishing industry), Ivana Obradovic, deputy director at OFDT, told AFP.

Finally, experts point to the "diversification of forms of consumption."

The use of crack -- a solid form of cocaine -- is spreading and cocaine is now increasingly perceived as "less dangerous" as opposed to 20 years ago, said Obradovic.

A drug that stimulates the central nervous system, cocaine is made from the leaves of the coca plant in South America.

While the prices have remained virtually unchanged -- a gram of cocaine cost 66 euros in 2023, compared to 60 euros in 2011 -- the purity of cocaine is on the rise, with 73 percent in 2023 compared to 46 percent in 2011.

Authorities have said drug crime is crippling daily life in France, with Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau vowing to intensify the fight against drug-related crime.

In 2023, French authorities seized 23.5 tonnes of cocaine, compared with 4.1 tonnes in 2010.

In the first 11 months of 2024, nearly 47 tonnes of cocaine were seized by the authorities.

Y.Bouchard--BTB