The number of cocaine users in France has nearly doubled to 1.1 million, with employees increasingly using the drug to cope with workplace pressures, a government report revealed on Wednesday.
The spike in consumption has pushed France to seventh place among European nations for cocaine use, according to the French Observatory of Drugs and Addictive Trends (OFDT).
"The evolution of working conditions" has led to people using it on the job, said the OFDT's deputy director Ivana Obradovic, citing restaurant workers trying to cope with intensive schedules and fishermen dealing with tough working conditions.
While the price of a gram of cocaine has remained relatively stable – rising from 60 euros to 66 euros per gram between 2011 and 2023 – the drug’s purity has increased dramatically.
The drug now tests at 73 percent purity compared to 46 percent in 2011.
French authorities seized 23.5 tonnes of cocaine in 2023, up from 4.1 tonnes in 2010, reflecting record global production levels.
Colombia, Bolivia and Peru produced 2,700 tonnes in 2022, more than double the 1,134 tonnes recorded in 2010.
More than 2 tonnes of cocaine washes up on shores of northern France
Experimentation surge
The report found cannabis remains France's most consumed illegal drug, with five million users in 2023. Of these, 1.4 million were regular users and 900,000 consumed it daily.
MDMA and ecstasy use has surged from 400,000 to 750,000 users between 2019 and 2023, while heroin experimentation rose by 350,000 to reach 850,000 users.
"Young adults have shown the highest increases in experimentation and yearly usage," said Obradovic.
The illegal drug trade in France generates between 3.5 and six billion euros annually. A recent OFDT study calculated the social cost – including lost lives, reduced quality of life and public finance impact – at 7.7 billion euros.
"Heroin use no longer only affects the most vulnerable – there are more socially integrated people who consume it nasally," Obradovic said.
The report noted changing attitudes have contributed to cocaine's spread, with the drug now being seen as more familiar and less dangerous than two decades ago.
