Home » News » Paris: the Goutte-d’Or library reopens … under police surveillance

Paris: the Goutte-d’Or library reopens … under police surveillance


Metal barriers, DPSP crew, the future municipal police, installed in front of the door, security guards … To enter the municipal library of Goutte-d’Or (18th century), rue de Fleury, you must now show your white paw on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

On the window, a sign with the logo “Ville de Paris” announces the color to users of this establishment nestled in the heart of this popular district in the north of the capital: “After weeks of closure, we are happy to be able to reopen and to see you again. . For now, our hours are reduced in order to allow you to benefit continuously from the presence of security guards. We hope that ambient delinquency will be quickly put to an end. “

A death in front of the entrance last July

Targeted by thugs on several occasions, surrounded by groups of dealers who hold the walls all day, threatening and provoking users and staff, the library was closed for the first time in November. At the end of the day, the twenty or so agents had asserted their right of withdrawal. And pointed out in a letter addressed to the City and to the Prefecture of Police, an interminable series of incidents around the library. In addition to the street deal, in particular a very targeted traffic of psychotropic drugs which would have recently increased, fights, assaults, thefts, threats …

“He has dozens of dealers, maybe 40, lying in wait for us. It is a horror, they related. Every day, we witness acts of violence ”. And to detail fights, stab wounds, snatching thefts, firecrackers in the library, damage to public space, incessant noises, and even a stray bullet lodged in the upright of the window … “In July 2020, recall employees, a man died of his injuries at the entrance to the library. “

A month later, after having obtained the City’s promise to benefit from protective measures, the establishment was to reopen on Wednesday December 16 … But it remained closed: two days earlier, mysterious thugs had bent on trying to destroy the windows with strong blows of a metal post.

Disillusioned staff and users

Again, the librarians appealed for help by asking the town hall, the police headquarters and, this time, also the Ministry of the Interior. Message heard: last Wednesday, the security system was in place, the users were there, and the staff reassured. “We see people coming back, entering quietly now,” smiles a librarian. For now, we only open 6 hours a week, Wednesdays and Saturdays from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., but if all goes well, if we continue to be protected, we will gradually return to the normal pace. “

However, rue de Fleury, no one is fooled. Library staff, no more than patrons or security guards, harbor the illusion that traffickers will magically disappear. “They are right there, two meters from us, look! coward disillusioned a mother, pointing the chin to groups of young people on the lookout. And we are only a few dozen meters from the Goutte-d’Or police station. As soon as the field is clear, traffic resumes … The neighborhood has deteriorated a lot over the past two years. “

Newsletter The essential of 75

A tour of the news in Paris and in the IDF

The police headquarters, for its part, authorized the installation of a new video surveillance camera outside the building. And the City, obtained a static police presence in front of the site. Tomorrow, Saturday, the library will be open under the same conditions, from 3 pm …

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.