Where does the World March for Cannabis take place in 2021?

Rendezvous in Grenoble on Saturday, May 22, and in Paris on May 29, for two « cannaparades »traditional "May" events.

In the capital of the Alps, Lyon's Collectif d'information et de recherche cannabique (CIRC) is calling for participants to gather at 2:30 p.m. on the Place de la Gare. In Paris, the Cannabis sans frontières association is calling for participants to gather at Place de la République at 2pm... with an arrival scheduled for 4.20pm (read 4.20am), at Place de la Bastille.

Paris: 5,000 people expected for an «exceptional» event»

«Last year, we had to cancel the walk at the last minute because of the covid. This year, it's exceptional!», enthuses Farid Ghehiouèche. The president and founder of Cannabis sans frontières, one of the faces of legalization in France, dreams of «100,000 people on the Place de la Bastille at 4.20pm». An achievable goal? No, he admits. «There are 3 to 5,000 people every year, but hope for more next week.

«The political context is special this year, he continues. Lhe President and his government seem intent on returning to the 1980s. At the same time parliamentarians have produced a number of reports. 250,000 people responded to the National Assembly's questionnaire, which is quite remarkable.»

All the more reason for Farid Ghehiouèche to be hopeful. To attract the crowds, he promises «A concert by the group Tarace Boulba, a sound system, and speeches. We'd love to invite MP François-Michel Lambert, who took a joint out at the National Assembly. He deserves it.»

«How nice!, replied the main interested party, contacted by Newsweed. I'll be there. If I change my schedule to come, it's because it's urgent. I don't want the subject of cannabis to hysterize the entire presidential campaign and prevent in-depth debate, but I also don't want it to get in the way of issues that are far more important than cannabis.»

Grenoble: CIRC leaves Lyon «fed up with marching empty-handed».»

CIRC Lyon chose to relocate its event to Grenoble. A rather young, ecologically-minded city whose mayor wants to make his city a laboratory for decriminalization cannabis. «In Lyon, we were tired of marching empty-handed. In 2019, there were barely thirty of us., laments IARC spokesperson Jérôme Expeusto. We said to ourselves, ‘Why not Grenoble?»

He is waiting «1000, 2000 people» and regrets that in France, the population has «It's difficult to mobilize for cannabis». Could the recent climate protests give new impetus to the pro-legalization movement? «I hope so... but I don't feel like it.», regrets the association manager.