Paris Takes Action Against Wild Tags and Posters, Allocating Millions of Euros Annually

Wild tags and posters are in the crosshairs of elected Parisians. 6.5 million euros are devoted each year in Paris to eliminate these degradations of the public space.

A deafening noise and a cleaner from Paris equipped with an airtight white jumpsuit. Using a spear, Patrick sprays silicate glass on the wall below the Quai Bourbon on Île Saint-Louis to make a tag disappear by airbrushing, a technique without adding water.

The agent coats the cleaned wall with an aqueous anti-graffiti protection, which “allows less attack on the stone”, continues the latter, a senior technician for 30 years in the cleanliness of Paris.

This kind of intervention is the daily life of this Paris cleanliness team, the armed wing of the municipality in its war against taggers and the wild posting of “Street marketing” companies.

“No Tolerance”

Anne Hidalgo’s First Deputy, Emmanuel Grégoire, announced on Monday morning that Paris was launching proceedings against the tagger Liak. A “recidivist” who tags “the walls of Paris” according to Nicolas Nordman, the deputy in charge of security.

The city has compiled a file where 123 graffiti are listed coming from the latter in the capital, for a damage of 17,000€. This is not the first time that the Parisian executive has attacked repeat offenders. Last year, the city of Paris had managed to condemn “Six Sax” to 17,000 euros in fines and two months of suspended prison while the number of degradations is increasing.

Parisian elected officials want to knock on the wallets of these agencies and taggers to discourage them in the face of the significant cost for the community.

“There are probably a few dozen individuals. It is also a competition that can be organized. They must understand that we cannot have tolerance on this”, warns Emmanuel Grégoire, the First Deputy by Anne Hidalgo.

“The problem is when a few dozen individuals do it systematically, behind it is public money, the time of public officials who are mobilized for this when they could do other things. It is the principle of these small incivilities which, accumulated by the mass, make it a big problem for society. We are determined to fight against it in a very severe way, “continues the elected official at the microphone of BFM Paris Île- of France.

6.5 million euros per year

Tags or wild posters, in total, 6.5 million euros are devoted to Paris to eliminate these degradations of public space each year, i.e. a budget doubled since 2020.

And that, not to mention the offensive tags that are reported to the Paris prosecutor’s office, says Nicolas Nordman, deputy in charge of security. “The graffiti are more offensive, especially towards the police, and there are anti-Semitic tags,” explains Patrick Cabel, a cleanliness technician from Paris. All the tags are also listed by the agents before they are erased.

“These tags also create a feeling of insecurity, of dilapidation, against which we want to act in an extremely resolute way”, assures Nicolas Nordman.

The other sector of attack targets “street marketing” agencies, with the sticking up of posters which have a “sense of impunity”, according to Emmanuel Grégoire. The city is thus initiating proceedings against eight of these agencies whose damage is estimated by the city of Paris at 150,000 euros.

A phenomenon which has been reinforced since the health crisis according to Emmanuel Grégoire. Every week, approximately 500 posters are removed by cleanliness officers and 3,500 tag reports are made.

Sensitize political parties

Regarding political displays, the city of Paris “has made the parties aware several times”, recalls Emmanuel Grégoire on our antenna.

“Sometimes the posters are glued extremely high. It makes an activist laugh because he will use a pole broom to put his poster with glue. But behind, it will require an intervention with a basket, with two or three agents for secure”, continues the chosen one.

“Behind these gestures, most people are unaware of the uncivil impact of the actions they carry out. They believe that it is trivial since they are the only one to do it and that it is not very serious. In reality, it is the mass that makes everything become problematic and serious. We must take care of the public space, “insists the First Socialist Deputy of Paris.

From January 1, 2024, the city will directly fine offenders up to 1500 euros per poster. Today, the latter must go through the regional prefecture.

This device will allow “more fluidity, more capacity for action, and more severity” assures Emmanuel Grégoire. Several agents are already sworn in and are reporting cases to the regional prefecture until the end of the year. “The very many street marketing agencies have been repeatedly warned, fought and sometimes verbalized with microscopic amounts. We are preparing for this skill”.