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Drug: overdoses related to chemsex are skyrocketing in Paris

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The Editor

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As we know, drug use in the French capital has not been improving in recent years. However, the start of this year brings a genuine source of concern for the Paris prosecutor's office, which has noted an increase in deaths related to drug use, particularly in the context of intimate encounters.

Since January 1st, a shocking 18 lights have gone out in the City of Light. 18 people have lost their lives, which is about one per week, due to the abusive drug use. That's a startling number in just 3 and a half months, especially considering that in 2025, “only” 29 people died from an overdose over the entire year. And this time, it's not about a tainted drug as it may have been before; in half of the cases, it's a completely different practice that's to blame.


A Dangerous Game

In 2025, some of the main causes of death included cocaine and multi-drug use, which accounted for 19 out of the 29 fatalities. However, in 2026, a new trend has emerged.

g> which is taking shape: 3 stops related to poly-drug use, 5 to cocaine. In the 10 remaining cases, it's an increasingly widespread practice that is to blame: chemsex.

An act that involves trying to enhance sexual pleasure through drug use. The only problem is that this often leads to excessive consumption, as the intake of substances (whether the same or different) happens too quickly, often trying to get back to it as soon as possible. Without giving the body time to recover, this leads to an accumulation, and thus an overdose.


A practice that's becoming more widespread

While chemsex isn’t new, it seems to be attracting more and more people, extending for example to heterosexuals even though it has long been primarily practiced in homosexual encounters. This

increase in practitioners, especially among étudiants, could explain the rise in deaths, combined with the exponential growth of new synthetic drugs and their usage.

To put an end to this series, the Paris prosecutor's office is implementing a number of measures, such as systematic investigations for involuntary homicide to trace back to the source, support groups for victims' families, as well as prevention campaigns, especially targeting young people, to raise awareness about synthetic drugs, and in particular the lack of transparency regarding their content.