Emmanuel Macron announces that cannabis fines «can be paid immediately» by credit card or cash

Faced with a low collection rate for cannabis fines, which does not exceed 35%, In an interview with La Provence newspaper, Emmanuel Macron announced that they «can be paid immediately», by credit card or in cash. By the end of the summer, 5,000 payment terminals should be in place.

«We've introduced a fixed fine of up to 2,500 euros. 350,000 have been issued in France since September 2020, including 29,000 in Marseille. But what we've found is that since payment is made by telepayment between 45 days and 60 days, we have a collection rate of 35%. And that's below the average for Marseille.»

Calling the situation 'unacceptable», the head of state asked «the Minister of the Interior to prepare a decree for the end of the summer, so that payment of fines can be immediate, by bank card or cash. We've started equipping agents with 5,000 payment terminals. It's very concrete.»

It should also be possible to pay in cash, Emmanuel Macron told the Provencal daily.

The police union Unité SGP Police, which describes itself as the leading union in the French national police force, said in a statement that the president's announcement «is not a good idea».

Police officers are not debt collectors!
AFD = simplify their work + sanction consumers
It's not a good idea to make police officers responsible for their collection, right down to the cash!
The Press Comm of'@UNITESGPPOLICE below ⬇️#AFD pic.twitter.com/xZwK1yuw73

- Grégory JORON (@gregjoronusgp) June 26, 2023

First tested in a few French cities then in Val-de-Marne, the system of lump-sum fines for drug users was then introduced. extended to the whole of France in September 2020. In Bouches-du-Rhône, 18,600 Pouillat fines, named after its instigator, were issued for 2022 alone, an increase of 50% over 2021, the first year of full application of this system, according to the Bouches-du-Rhône police prefecture.

14 associations, including most are now calling for decriminalization of drugs in France, had gathered against the proposed contraventionnalisation the simple use of cannabis, with the Ligue des Droits de l'Homme (Human Rights League) even asking an appeal to the Conseil d'Etat.