Lookouts and squatters liable to fines from Tuesday

After the flat-rate for the use of narcotics generalized in 2020, new “fixed tort fines” (AFP) are being tested from this Tuesday, October 19.

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Operating on the same principle, they will allow the police to directly sanction a fine “illegal occupation of a common part of a collective building“Without going through the trial box, according to the Rennes public prosecutor who announced this measure in September.

This “AFD” targets “people who occupy common spaces with several people and deliberately prevent the access or free movement of people or the proper functioning of safety and security devices (fire doors, extinguishers, smoke extraction systems)», Indicates on its site the Ministry of the Interior. Depending on the time limits within which the offender pays it, the fine set at 200 euros may be reduced to 150 and increased to 400.

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The second AFD experimented concerns “illegal installation on the land of others, with a view to establishing a home, even temporary, on land belonging to a municipality or to any other owner without being able to justify his authorization“. Its amount is set at 500 euros, reduced to 400 and increased to 1000 depending on the time limits within which the fine is paid.

A device that could be generalized

Set up in the cities of Rennes, Créteil, Foix, Lille, Marseille and Reims, the system is intended to be generalized throughout the national territory from the first quarter of 2022.

The Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin announced last May the creation of a new fine as part of the fight against drug trafficking for lookouts or squatters in building halls. This new tool was voted in March 2019 at the same time as the fine for cannabis consumption of 200 euros but had not yet entered into force.

Regarding the flat rate for the use of narcotics, 95,921 verbalizations were sent to the national processing center in one year, according to the Rennes prosecutor’s office. The dispute rate is 3% and the spontaneous payment rate is 47.5%.

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Apart from the use of narcotics, for which AFD entered into force in June 2020, there have been three other AFDs since November 2018 which relate to road traffic: lack of insurance, driving without a license, driving with a license. inappropriate.

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