The husband of this deputy mayor of Paris died in 2018 during a chemsex session. He intends to raise public awareness of this practice which, according to him, is “no longer a marginal phenomenon”.
The road accident caused by Pierre Palmade on February 10th threw into the public debate the discussions around chemsex, this practice which combines sexual intercourse and the taking of psychoactive substances.
Guest of BFMTV this Wednesday, Jean-Luc Roméro, deputy mayor of Paris and whose husband died after consuming drugs during a chemsex session, warns against “the absolute mixture” that he observes in the debates.
“It’s not because of chemsex that Pierre Palmade had an accident, it’s because he took a product and drove,” he insists on our set.
“It’s not people who kill other people”
If Jean-Luc Roméro finds it satisfactory that the subject of chemsex is now addressed, he deplores his treatment. “We end up in a sex scandal where we try to mix everything up without trying to understand”, he affirms, regretting that “for the first time that we manage to talk about chemsex, we arrive at something unhealthy and moralizing “.
“I don’t see the relationship with sex and the accident,” he adds.
“In chemsex, it’s not people who kill others, it’s people who can die from it, and unfortunately my husband was a victim,” continues Jean-Luc Roméro.
Very accessible products
If Jean-Luc Roméro, also president of the local elected officials against AIDS, regrets that the subject of chemsex is being broached in the conditions of this tragedy, he intends to seize the opportunity to raise awareness.
“For years it felt like we were talking in a vacuum, it’s a big public health issue and I would like the government to do something about it,” he says.
According to him, this practice has existed in France for fifteen years. “Today, it is no longer a marginal phenomenon,” he says, adding that three out of ten homosexuals have already practiced chemsex.
Jean-Luc Roméro denounces “a law that does not help”. He explains that certain products used for chemsex are very easily accessible on the Internet and that several of them are even legal. “Cocaine is for people who still have money, but for other drugs, you have GBL or 3MMC during the day at home,” he laments.
“The accelerator was also dating applications: a third of Grindr users do chemsex,” adds the elected official.
A call to the authorities
Jean-Luc Roméro recalls that Pierre Palmade’s accident is “unacceptable”. “In general for this kind of evenings, we do the shopping before and we do not move. He knew that he should not take the car because he is used to this kind of practice,” he says.
However, he deplores the lack of information on the subject and “the law which is an obstacle to information”. “Unfortunately when people practice chemsex and there’s an accident, like my husband who was unwell, they don’t dare to call for help,” he continues.
He calls on the government to do more. “What we managed to do with heroin addicts in the 90s, we have to manage to do it today,” he concludes.
For help, it is possible to contact the “chemsex emergencies” call number from Aides on 01 77 93 97 77 (non-surcharged number) or Drugs info service on 0 800 23 13 13 (anonymous and free service and call, 7 days a week from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m.).