Raising the price of tobacco reduces the number of smokers, but also boosts sales of contraband cigarettes. Traffic broke records in 2022. Report in Pantin, near Paris, where street vendors are legion.
Lowering the street curtain, in a sign of anger. That day in Pantin (Seine-Saint-Denis), pharmacists, restaurateurs and tobacconists protest against street vendors of cigarettes. Franck Durecu, who has run a brasserie for 18 years, describes a daily life of violence and incivility. “We can no longer work. Our turnover, it fell by more than 30%“, he says. The inhabitants of the district who support the initiative speak out anonymously, for fear of reprisals. “They are often in front of our entrance, so we have to excuse ourselves to go out“, deplores a woman.
37% of packets purchased outside tobacconists in 2021
At the metro exit, a row of a dozen vendors calls out to passers-by and offers packages at half price. Transactions are made in full view. Two men, who say they are undocumented and have been in France for five years, say they prefer this contraband to other traffic. “We are not thieves. It’s for eating“, says one of them. They risk a year in prison, but the sentence is rarely applied. With 22 municipal police officers, the mayor (DG) of Pantin says he is doing his best, and is asking for reinforcement from the State. At the end of 2021, in France, 37% of packs were purchased outside tobacconists.
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