Cocaine use in France doubles as workplace pressures drive demand

While the price of a gram of cocaine in France has remained relatively stable – rising from 60 euros to 66 euros per gram between 2011 and 2023 – the drug’s purity has increased dramatically.

The number of cocaine users in France has nearly doubled to 1.1 million, with employees increasingly using the drug to cope with workplace pressures, a government report revealed on Wednesday.

The spike in consumption has pushed France to seventh place among European nations for cocaine use, according to the French Observatory of Drugs and Addictive Trends (OFDT).

"The evolution of working conditions" has led to people using it on the job, said the OFDT's deputy director Ivana Obradovic, citing restaurant workers trying to cope with intensive schedules and fishermen dealing with tough working conditions.

While the price of a gram of cocaine has remained relatively stable – rising from 60 euros to 66 euros per gram between 2011 and 2023 – the drug’s purity has increased dramatically.

ADVERTISEMENT

The drug now tests at 73 percent purity compared to 46 percent in 2011.

French authorities seized 23.5 tonnes of cocaine in 2023, up from 4.1 tonnes in 2010, reflecting record global production levels.

Colombia, Bolivia and Peru produced 2,700 tonnes in 2022, more than double the 1,134 tonnes recorded in 2010.

More than 2 tonnes of cocaine washes up on shores of northern France

Experimentation surge


Read more on RFI English

Read also:
Paris police begin clearing 'Crack Land' drug trafficking camp
No quick fix for Paris's growing crack cocaine problem
Netherlands, Belgium overtake Spain as main gateways into Europe for cocaine