Paris (France) (AFP)

Sitting on a scooter with two friends in front of his Parisian high school, Karim * hides to grind the cannabis herb in his hands. "It's complicated back to school, so you have to decompress," said the 16-year-old.

It is 09:45. The new schedules of barely discovered first time, the trio leaves this establishment of the 9th district to roll a joint. A gesture that has become almost banal in France, where young people remain the first users of cannabis in Europe, despite the shy advances in prevention in schools.

For Gaétan, 15, it is the first firecracker "for a month and a half". During his "family" vacation, he did not eat anything, he says behind his round glasses. A weaning staggered with its rhythm last year: "30 joints a week.We smoked a lot at breaks, sometimes at noon, we did not even eat."

"The school conditions you to bedava (smoking, ed), because you rub more young people who are in there," said the boy with the mustache juvenile. His first joint, it was in 4th, "to do like everyone else".

Since then, Gaétan has become accustomed to sometimes taking classes with impaired concentration. "History, you can do what you are, be active, but in maths drop," he confesses, worrying about the tray new formula he will inaugurate. "With continuous control, you do not have to be just operational on exams."

So this year, "I'm going to stop, that's for sure," he promises. A resolution that may prove difficult to apply.

- Progress of prevention -

Aware of the stakes, the National Education has implemented actions in high school to counter this ripple effect and mimicry that can push high school students to cannabis.

"In terms of prevention, the National Education has progressed and begins to integrate directly into programs to strengthen psychosocial skills", which allow to develop critical thinking, said Nathalie Latour, General Delegate of the Federation Addiction.

The "Unplugged" program, for example, offers twelve hours of workshops supervised by a teacher, to work on self-esteem, the ability to make one's own choices. Tested since 2013 in four departments, the success of the device was recently underlined by the Interministerial Mission for the fight against drugs and addictive behaviors (Mildeca).

This new approach seems to bring first fruits. The share of middle school students who experienced cannabis fell from 9.8% to 6.7% between 2014 and 2018. At 17, young people are now 39% to have already smoked, the lowest prevalence since 2000, according to the French Observatory of Drugs and Drug Addiction (OFDT).

But the road is still long. "Here, everyone smokes, there are at least half of the students who + more and more regularly," Karim assesses under his hooded duet.

Illustration at lunchtime: in the square next to the school, the many small groups of students who exhale thick clouds of smoke do not shock anyone.

One of his friends holds a cone to Leah, 17, who wants to reduce her consumption. "But with buddies like that, how am I doing?"

This little brunette has been smoking since she was 12 years old. She has seen her grades fall from year to year. "I did not think it would burn my neurons to the point of being able to memorize anymore. (...) When you go from 15 to 10, you see the results."

No need to talk to this terminally ill student or get help. "The cops who come to school to get you out of the boat phrases, it has no impact," she taunts.

But Leah, who consumes daily, admits it herself. "If I want to get my bac, I have to quit the week."

* All first names have been changed.

© 2019 AFP