President Emmanuel Macron has taken steps to reform drug laws amid concerns that France has seen a continuous rise in drug use despite having some of the strictest narcotics laws in Europe. But is the country ready for a radical new approach? A parliamentary report released in January noted that – since the law criminalising drugs was passed on December 31, 1970 – the number of drug arrests in France has steadily increased, to nearly 140,000 in 2016 (or 67.5% of all arrests). In 2015 alone, there were 37,160 convictions for the use of narcotics versus just 3,481 in 2000–a 10.6-fold increase in 15 years. The report acknowledged that France’s current drug policies are “inefficient” as well as “very time-consuming for police and magistrates”.