The security situation in the northern and eastern districts of Paris has deteriorated to such an extent that some companies have been forced to set up private security teams to protect their employees when they take public transport, for fear of muggings and robberies.
The area concerned is located on the border between the 19th arrondissement of Paris and the suburban town of Aubervilliers, renowned for its public safety concerns. For many years, the area has been selected by public authorities for administrative offices and by companies for their operation—supported by tax incentives. Ultra-modern buildings with pompous names stand side by side: Millénaire 1 and Millénaire 3 are both home to the BNP Paribas bank.
The problem is that the neighbourhood is plagued by drug addiction. Drug addicts roam the streets, assaulting passers-by for money. “We call them ‘zombies’. They try to score something when they’re going through withdrawal. They break car windows to get change, urinate and defecate in parking lots,” a policeman told Le Figaro, adding, “It generates constant insecurity for people. We can also run into crazies who pull out a knife.”
This population of drug addicts is mixed with migrants who have taken up residence in a large green space on the border between Paris and Aubervilliers, now closed to the public after having become a place of drug dealing and prostitution.
Given the prevailing climate, BNP Paribas has hired private security guards to provide a level of security that is no longer guaranteed by the public services. Some twenty security guards patrol the area from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. BNP Paribas has even set up a dedicated service to escort employees, with a security guard accompanying them from the office to the RER station every 30 minutes after office hours. The company has drawn up a map of the area, with recommended and non-recommended routes. It advises against carrying valuables and recommends that employees do not travel alone, but always with one or more colleagues.
The system, which was put in place several months ago, is constantly being reinforced and the number of teams increased. For many employees, crime in the neighbourhood is not just a ‘feeling.’ Several have already been assaulted, or even hospitalised, after suffering violence at the hands of drug addicts. The presence of the security guards is reassuring, especially for women, who confess to being afraid when they walk through the area after dark.
France’s biggest bank is of course free to use its money as it sees fit. But the Ministry of Justice, next door to BNP, also uses the services of private security companies—financed by public funds. The subject is virtually taboo and was revealed in 2022 by our colleagues from Valeurs Actuelles, who criticised the blindness of the then-minister of justice, Éric Dupont-Moretti, who was convinced that crime was a right-wing “fantasy.” “France is not a cut-throat country,” he liked to say on television. “Easy to say when you only come here once a year,” an employee told Valeurs actuelles at the time.
When contacted by the conservative weekly, the ministry laconically confirmed the existence of such local private security firms, and said it had “for several years been reinforcing the safety of its employees along the routes leading to the various public transport connections” along with other major groups and in close liaison with the Paris police prefecture.
Today, Le Figaro confirms the information revealed at the time by Valeurs Actuelles and quotes an employee of the Ministry of Justice, who appreciates the presence of the security guards, having already been approached and insulted several times: “I tell myself that if I shout, there’s someone not far away.”
The problem is not just one of crime. The neighbourhood is given over to an anonymous mass of crack addicts with no identity, often arrested, never treated, and always released. A few do-gooders who work for the BNP or the Ministry of Justice consider the security measures to be excessive but are forced to admit that the situation is getting worse all the time. “It’s a shame, because it’s a beautiful place. The area around the canal is magnificent. It’s good to invest in areas other than the heart of Paris, because it means we can have brand-new buildings with more square metres. But we have to solve these security problems. It’s a real issue,” acknowledged a bank executive.
