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In an interview with the newspaper La Provence, Emmanuel Macron announced that the police will soon be equipped with payment terminals so that fines can be paid immediately. A way, according to the Head of State, to increase the current low recovery rate.
Traveling for three days in Marseille, Emmanuel Macron gave an interview to the regional daily Provence. He notably returned to the drug trafficking which plagues the city and has killed several people in shootings in recent weeks. In this interview, he mentioned the measures that the government wishes to put in place to fight against drug trafficking in the country.
A recovery rate of 35%
The President of the Republic wants to remedy the low collection of fines for possession or consumption of cannabis. Only 35% of people who received the fine pay it. An “unacceptable” situation, he said. “We cannot deplore drug trafficking if we have users. People who have the means to use drugs because they find it recreational, they have to understand that they nurture networks and that they have a de facto complicity”, he explained.
As a reminder, a person controlled by the police or the gendarmes, consuming narcotics or in possession of small quantities, can receive a fixed fine. A sanction which aims to pay a sum of money to the Public Treasury. The amount of the fine is €200. This is reduced (€150) if paid within 15 days and increased to €450 if paid within 45 days.
Emmanuel Macron has announced that he wants to put in place a simple measure to increase the recovery rate of this type of fine, the payment of which is made today by telepayment between 45 and 60 days. By the end of the summer, the police will be equipped with 5,000 payment terminals so that payment by credit card can be immediate. It will also be possible to pay in cash. This measure is part of a security plan that will be unveiled by the president during his three-day visit to Marseille.
A measure that is difficult to apply in the field
Asked about the announcement of the President of the Republic, the national secretary unit SGP-police Force Ouvrière, Jean-Christophe Couvy, believes that it will be difficult to apply on the ground and will represent a “additional charge” for the police. He also doubts that the people arrested have money on them, especially those under guardianship or curatorship. Jean-Christophe Couvy also pointed out that minors will not be affected by this measure because they do not pay a fine.