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INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 PARIS 000268 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP, G-ACBLANK, G, INL, DRL, PRM, EUR/PGI, 
EUR/WE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KTIP ELAB KCRM KFRD KWMN PHUM PREF
SMIG 
SUBJECT: FRANCE: NINTH ANNUAL TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS (TIP) 
REPORT 
 
REF: SECSTATE 132759 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY:  In 2008 France took significant steps to 
combat trafficking in persons, ratifying the EU convention on 
Action Against Trafficking in Persons and changing the French 
anti-trafficking law to better prosecute forced labor 
violations.  The French government used its anti-trafficking 
law to secure the extradition of four Bulgarian nationals 
implicated in the smuggling of 72 women into France as part 
of a prostitution ring.  France remains a destination country 
for trafficking victims, mainly women trafficked for 
prostitution from Eastern Europe and Africa.  There are 
between 15,000 and 20,000 prostitutes in France, of which the 
Government of France in 2008 identified 1,300 as likely 
victims of trafficking.  In France, prostitution is legal, 
but pimping and trafficking are illegal.  Violators face 
serious penalties, commensurate with those for rape.  France 
views itself as a European leader in pro-actively combating 
trafficking because French laws allow police to investigate 
and monitor trafficking rings before victims file complaints. 
 France combats trafficking through well-enforced, extensive 
legislation; a centralized trafficking police force; the 
provision of temporary residence permits to trafficking 
victims; diplomatic initiatives with source countries; and 
coordinated work between government and non-government 
anti-trafficking actors.  The Ministry of Interior dismantled 
33 networks in 2007 and 30 in 2008.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (U) Answers below are keyed to section and paragraph 
numbers in reftel.  Embassy Paris TIP point of contact is 
Jerome Hohman, hohmanjp@state.gov. Phone 33 1 43 12 26 14 (or 
IVG 8-498-2614), fax 33 1 43 12 26 63. 
 
Time spent on TIP report: 
FS-03 poloff: 40 hours 
LES-9: 30 hours 
FS-1 Deputy Political Counselor: 3 hours review 
 
 
¶3. (SBU) FRANCE'S TIP SITUATION: 
 
-- A. The numbers provided by France's national Central 
Office for the Repression of Trafficking in Persons (OCRTEH) 
are reliable; however, since many prosecutors still use the 
anti-pimping, as opposed to anti-trafficking, laws to 
prosecute traffickers, extrapolating an assessment of 
trafficking from the arrest data is an exercise in inference. 
 In addition, French data on trafficking are not released 
until March; therefore part of this report relies on 2007 
data (unless where otherwise noted).  OCRTEH estimates the 
numbers and origin of prostitutes from statistics of those 
arrested for solicitation, which was criminalized in the 2003 
Internal Security Law (LSI). OCRTEH reported that in 2007, 
the national police identified approximately 2,000 persons 
for soliciting.  They estimate that 1,300 of these were 
victims of trafficking in 2008. 
 
-- B. France is a destination country for trafficked persons, 
mainly women trafficked for prostitution from Eastern Europe 
(Romania and Bulgaria), Africa (Nigeria and Cameroon), and 
some from South America and Asia (China and Malaysia). 
France's national Central Office for the Repression of 
Trafficking in Persons (OCRTEH) with assistance from the 
Ministry of Justice releases data every March on trafficking 
and prostitution.  OCRTEH estimates that there are between 
15,000 and 20,000 prostitutes in France, of which of which 
about 80 percent -- between 12,000 and 14,400 -- are 
foreigners and thus likely to be trafficking victims.  The 
Government of France in 2008 identified 1,300 as likely 
victims of trafficking.  There have been no destination 
changes in trafficked persons to France since the last TIP 
report. 
 
-- C. Victims of trafficking in France are often exploited by 
large, well-organized, international criminal groups.  OCRTEH 
reported that 30 networks were dismantled in 2008.  The 
director of OCRTEH Jean-Marc Souvira reported that the 
conditions that victims face vary widely in France.  Victims 
are trafficked into luxury brothels, peep shows, or onto the 
street.  Increasingly, the traffickers also use the internet 
to prostitute victims.  Many trafficking victims are in 
France legally.  France does not require visas for visitors 
from Romania or Bulgaria, two of the largest source 
countries, for visits of less than 90 days. 
 
-- D. While the majority of trafficking victims in France are 
brought to work in the sex trade, there is also clandestine 
forced labor, primarily of young women and girls, as domestic 
 
PARIS 00000268  002 OF 008 
 
 
workers.  Since domestic slavery is by its nature hidden (the 
victims are kept working inside, and often permitted no leave 
time, and have no interchange with the outside world that 
would allow them to tell their story), the Committee Against 
Modern Slavery (CCEM) finds it difficult to estimate the 
numbers of victims.  Since its founding in 1994, CCEM has 
assisted over 500 victims, of which a majority are African 
and 70 percent are women.  Nearly 30 percent arrived on 
French territory as minors.  In these cases, the CCEM is 
often contacted by concerned neighbors or social services. 
The CCEM also notes that in many cases, the "employers" are 
diplomats serving in France, enjoying diplomatic immunity. 
The CCEM reported that the Saudi Arabian diplomatic community 
has often violated French labor laws. 
 
-- E. French-EU immigration laws make pre-identification of 
victims difficult.  Since Romanians and Bulgarians do not 
need visas and immigration and border controls can be porous, 
it is relatively easy for traffickers and victims to enter 
France undetected.  The OCRTEH reports that traffickers often 
acquire fake Sudanese passports (Sudanese citizens receive 
asylum in France) or fake Romanian passports (Moldovan 
victims often travel as Romanians).  A large part of 
metropolitan French border-monitoring has been subsumed to 
the Schengen Treaty border control.  This covers all of 
France's land borders and some of its air traffic as well; 
persons arriving by air, train, and car in France from other 
Schengen member countries (such as Belgium, Switzerland, 
Spain, Italy, Germany, and Luxembourg) are not subject to 
immigration inspection when they enter France.  French 
coordination on trafficking with other EU countries is good, 
but open borders among Schengen members of the EU hinder 
France's pro-active approach. 
 
¶4. (SBU) SETTING THE SCENE FOR FRANCE'S ANTI-TIP EFFORTS: 
 
-- A. France recognizes that trafficking is a serious problem 
and actively works to combat it.  France funds 
anti-trafficking and anti-sex trade awareness campaigns in 
association with NGOs.  In cooperation with the French Soccer 
Federation, the Ministry of Health launched a campaign to 
fight trafficking in women.  The campaign sponsored media 
spots against prostitution to be shown at international 
soccer games.  The Ministry of the Interior funded a 
publicity campaign of posters depicting a nude woman with a 
bar code over her.  The poster says, "In France today, there 
are slaves for sale. It exists. Now you know..." In addition, 
Air France continues to show anti-sex trade films on buses 
between downtown Paris and major airports while also 
distributing anti-sex trade pamphlets on flights to 
sex-tourism destinations.  Airports similarly feature 
anti-trafficking and anti-sex trade posters inside terminals. 
 
-- B. France established an inter-ministerial commission to 
combat trafficking, which includes France's Central Office 
for the Repression of Trafficking in Persons (OCRTEH, a 
division of the National Police in the Central Directorate of 
the Judicial Police in the Interior Ministry, which takes the 
lead in anti-trafficking enforcement).  OCRTEH coordinates 
with several government ministries, including Interior, 
Justice, Education, Tourism, Health and Solidarity, Foreign 
Affairs, and Employment / Social Cohesion / Lodging.  OCRTEH 
also has strong ties with the anti-pimping brigade of the 
Paris police.  OCRTEH is the operational and political focal 
point for French anti-trafficking efforts; police units all 
over the country turn their cases over to OCRTEH if they are 
found to involve trafficking, and OCRTEH serves as the 
designated clearing house for inquiries on trafficking issues 
(for example, the OCRTEH chief testifies before the 
legislature on trafficking questions).  Victims' assistance 
is primarily handled by NGOs in close association with the 
French government. 
 
-- C. There were no reports of governmental limitations to 
address trafficking in persons in France.  There were no 
reports of government corruption in this area during the 
reporting period. 
 
-- D. Systematic monitoring, prosecution, victim protection 
and assessments on behalf of the French government are led by 
OCRTEH. 
 
¶5. (SBU) INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS: 
 
-- A. Section A.  In 2008, France used its anti-trafficking 
in persons law (originally written in 2003 and revised in 
2007) to secure the extradition of 4 Bulgarian nationals 
implicated in the smuggling of 72 women into France as part 
 
PARIS 00000268  003 OF 008 
 
 
of a prostitution ring.  France also ratified the Council of 
Europe Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Persons. 
The text obligates France to prevent trafficking, aid 
victims, and bring traffickers to justice.  France prohibits 
trafficking for both sexual and labor exploitation through a 
2003 addition to its criminal code.  Article 225-4-1 of this 
code prescribes penalties that are sufficiently stringent and 
can exceed those for rape.  French prosecutors have 
historically favored the use of anti-pimping statutes 
(Articles 225-5 through 225-12) instead of the 
anti-trafficking statue due to a lack of experience in 
applying the newer, anti-trafficking section of the law.  The 
penalties under the anti-pimping laws are essentially 
identical to those prescribed under the anti-trafficking law. 
 In 2008, the Ministry of the Interior trained prosecutors to 
apply the anti-trafficking provision in trafficking cases 
instead of relying on anti-pimping laws. 
 
The Council of Europe text can be seen at the address below: 
http://www.coe.int 
 
Anti-Trafficking Law 
-------------------- 
The law states, "Human trafficking is in exchange for 
remuneration or some other benefit or the promise of 
remuneration or some other benefit, recruiting, transporting, 
transferring, housing, or otherwise receiving a person to put 
that person at one's own disposition or that of a possibly 
unidentified third party in order to permit the commission of 
pimping, physical and/or sexual attack, exploitation of 
indigence, or inhuman work/living conditions in order to 
compel that person to commit crimes or infractions." 
 
Anti-Pimping / Anti-Soliciting Laws 
---------------------------------- 
ARTICLE 225-5 
Pimping entails any of the following: 
   ¶1.  Aiding, assisting, or protecting the prostitution of 
another; 
   ¶2.  Deriving profit from prostitution of another, 
partaking of the revenue, or receiving payments from a person 
who habitually engages in prostitution; 
   ¶3. Hiring, training, manipulating, or compelling a person 
to 
engage in prostitution; Pimping is punished by 7 years of 
imprisonment and a 217,391 USD fine 
 
ARTICLE 225-6 
Is similar to pimping and punishable by the penalties listed 
in article 225-5 and applies to those who engage in any of 
the following: 
   1: Acting as an intermediary between two people of whom 
one engages in prostitution and the other who profits from or 
remunerates prostitution of another; 
   2: Obfuscating a pimp's earnings (via pimping) by 
providing fictitious justifications for (illicit) revenue; 
   3: Failing to justify one's living standard while 
cohabitating with a person engaged habitually in prostitution 
or by being in regular contact with one or several persons 
regularly engaged in prostitution; 
   4: Hindering prevention, security checks, assistance, or 
rehabilitation by groups qualified to help persons in danger 
of prostitution. 
 
ARTICLE 225-7 
Pimping is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and up to a 
2,173,913 USD fine: 
   1: With regard to minor; 
   2: With regard to a person who is particularly vulnerable, 
due to age, sickness, infirmity, physical or psychological 
deficiency or pregnancy that is apparent or known to the 
offender; 
   3: With regard to multiple people; 
   4: With regard to a person who is enlisted to engage in 
prostitution either outside of the Republic of France or upon 
arrival in France; 
   5: By a natural or adoptive relative of the person who 
prostitutes themselves or by a person who has authority over 
the other or abuses the authority conferred by a position; 
   6: With regard to an official mandated by their function 
to participate in the fight against prostitution, promoting 
health, or maintaining public order; 
   7: With regard to a person that carries a firearm; 
   8: With regard to using force, violence, or coercion; 
   9: With regard to multiple people who act as accomplices 
or with complicity, without constituting an organized gang; 
   10: With regard to the use of a telecommunication network 
for the diffusion of a message directed at an unspecified 
 
PARIS 00000268  004 OF 008 
 
 
public audience. 
 
ARTICLE 225-7-1 
Pimping is punishable by up to 15 years of imprisonment and 
up to a 4,347,826 USD fine when it is undertaken with a minor 
15 years of age or under. 
 
ARTICLE 225-8 
Pimping as described by article 225-7 is punishable by up to 
20 years in prison and up to a 4,347,826 USD fine when 
committed by an organized gang. 
 
ARTICLE 225-9 
Pimping involving torture is punishable by up to life 
imprisonment and up to a 6,521,739 USD fine. 
 
ARTICLE 225-10 
It is punishable by up to 10 years of imprisonment and up to 
a 1,086,956 USD fine when someone directly or indirectly: 
   1: Detains, manages, exploits, directs, facilitates, 
finances, or contributes to the financing of a prostitution 
establishment; 
   2: Detains, manages, exploits, directs, facilitates, 
finances, or contributes to the financing of any 
establishment which is open to the public or is used by the 
public to accept or habitually tolerate one or many people 
who prostitute themselves inside the establishment or in one 
of its annexes or who seek out clients for prostitution; 
   3: Selling or making available unused areas for the 
purpose of facilitating prostitution; 
   4: Selling, renting, or making available vehicles for the 
purpose of facilitating prostitution. 
 
ARTICLE 225-10-1 
The act, by any means, including passively, of soliciting 
another with the goal of eliciting sexual relations in 
exchange for remuneration or the promise of remuneration is 
punishable by up to two months in prison and up to a 5,434 
USD fine. 
 
ARTICLE 225-11 
Attempts to commit the crimes designated in this section have 
the same punishments. 
 
ARTICLE 225-12 
Morally culpable persons can be declared legally responsible 
according to the conditions designated by article 121-2, for 
the infractions defined by articles 225-5 to 225-10. The 
punishments encouraged by morally culpable persons are: 
  1: Fine according to the form designated in articles 
131-138; 
  2: The punishments mentioned in article 131-39. 
 
-- B. Human trafficking is punishable by up to 7 years of 
imprisonment and a 220,588 USD fine.  The penalties for 
pimping and trafficking are basically identical.  The 
government reported 500 pimping arrests and prosecutions in 
2008, but it is unclear how many of these are trafficking 
cases, since the government does not disaggregate such data 
by specific crimes committed under the general heading of 
pimping. 
 
-- C. The penalties for trafficking for labor exploitation 
are the same as those for trafficking for sexual 
exploitation.  One NGO reports that there have been instances 
of such exploitation by diplomats serving in France. 
According to the Committee Against Modern Slavery, 164 cases 
of labor exploitation were reported in France in 2008. 
 
-- D. Article 222 of the French penal code prescribes 
penalties of up to seven years in prison for sexual assault. 
These are comparable to trafficking and pimping laws. 
 
-- E. French government data do not make clear how many 
arrests and prosecutions were for trafficking in 
persons-related offenses. However, OCRTEH reported that 30 
trafficking networks were dismantled in France in 2008. 
France continues to prosecute individuals who violate French 
labor practices by abusing or threatening employees or by 
withholding wages.  Local work inspection offices offer 
advice to employees. 
 
-- F. The government through OCRTEH and through the Ministry 
of Social Action funds training programs for government 
employees and NGOs.  OCRTEH combats trafficking through 
investigations, training, and public/NGO outreach.  OCRTEH 
actively sought to train prosecutors and judges on use of the 
anti-trafficking statute, which was revised in 2007.  OCRTEH, 
 
PARIS 00000268  005 OF 008 
 
 
along with DGAS (the Ministry of Social Action), trains 
police on identifying victims of trafficking.  OCRTEH began 
training hotel managers and employees on suspicious activity 
that they should report.  The DGAS spent 30,000 dollars on 
programs to train social workers on the needs of trafficking 
victims.  French NGOs also assist in providing training to 
police.  The French Ministry of Economy, Industry, and 
Employment has decided to create and distribute pocket-sized 
cards to border police and NGOs on how to correctly identify 
trafficking victims. 
 
-- G. France works closely with other EU countries and source 
countries to combat trafficking. The OCRTEH currently has 
three teams of police that work with other EU member states 
on trafficking cases.  The French government has officials in 
90 embassies around the world who function as a liaison with 
the host government on trafficking issues.  In addition, 
there are also French police officers in embassies in source 
countries who work on trafficking in persons issues.  In 
2008, France began work on a judicial agreement with Nigeria 
and Cameroon, two major source countries for trafficking in 
persons to France.  In October 2008, the French Ministry of 
Interior and its Belgium equivalent created a joint 
investigation unit to combat human trafficking, which was the 
first of its kind within the EU system. 
 
-- H. The French government used its anti-trafficking in 
persons law (which was originally written in 2003 and revised 
in 2007) to secure the extradition of four Bulgarian 
nationals implicated in the smuggling of 72 women into France 
as part of a prostitution ring.  France extradites persons 
charged with trafficking to other countries; however, the 
extradition process can be long and cumbersome.  Within the 
EU, French authorities prefer to use EU arrest warrants, 
which take four days to execute, do not depend on an 
examination of local law, and permit expeditious transfer of 
custody among member states.  France also extradites French 
citizens abroad to face trafficking charges. 
 
-- I - J. There was no evidence of government involvement in 
or tolerance of trafficking during the reporting period. 
 
-- K. Prostitution in France is legal; however, pimping and 
soliciting are illegal.  The legal minimum age for sexual 
consent is 15 years, with 18 years being the age of majority. 
 Laws against pimping are strictly enforced.  Law enforcement 
contacts report that the anti-soliciting law is used as a 
means to evaluate the situation of prostitutes and screen for 
potential victims of trafficking.  In 2008, The Ministry of 
Interior launched an initiative to create a map of 
prostitution networks in France in order to have data to 
visually identify and dismantle potential trafficking 
networks.  The government reported two trafficking networks 
were dismantled due to this advancement. 
 
-- L. Around 13,000 to 16,000 French troops are deployed 
abroad every year to participate in peacekeeping operations. 
In cases of sexual abuse by soldiers and peacekeepers abroad, 
the French government has investigated and prosecuted 
offenders. 
 
-- M. France prosecutes French nationals who travel abroad to 
engage in sexual tourism.  French police travel to child sex 
destination countries to investigate reports of child sexual 
exploitation abroad and to investigate French nationals 
suspected of this criminal activity.  On August 28, French 
police arrested suspected pedophile Jean-Pierre Stacino -* a 
professor at a Toulouse high school -* in Paris on his 
return from a one-month trip to Burma and Thailand, ending a 
six-month inquiry.  Stacino was officially indicted on 
September 2 for "sexual attacks against minors over and under 
the age of 15, prostitution, corruption of minors, and 
possession of pornographic materials." 
 
¶6. (SBU) PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS: 
 
-- A.  Section A. France provides one-year residency cards to 
victims of trafficking, which can be renewed every six 
months.  France also allows a 30-day reflection period after 
gaining shelter. This reflection period helps victims to 
reflect on their situation and decide on a course of action. 
In 2008, the Paris Police Prefecture reported that it issued 
92 residency permits to undocumented immigrants believed to 
have been victims of trafficking.  NGOs express frustration 
with the fees required for the residency permit and renewal 
of the permit.  The residency permit granted to the victims 
costs 407 USD and 103 USD to renew it every six months. The 
validation tax for the visa costs 177 USD. 
 
PARIS 00000268  006 OF 008 
 
 
 
-- B - C. The French government depends on NGOs to assist 
trafficking victims; however, the government provides funding 
to victims and to the NGOs.  Victims are given a stipend of 
464 dollars/month in addition to medical care, legal counsel, 
shelter, and psychological counseling.  The government does 
not release complete figures on how much it contributes to 
these NGOs every year, but contacts at AcSe, an NGO that 
shelters victims, reported that it received 264,700 USD from 
the French government and 30,000 USD from Paris city 
government in 2007.  Many NGOS complain that the system for 
taking in victims is not centralized and depends on 
relationships between the NGOs and local governments.  Since 
shelters are found in large cities, victims in small towns do 
not have the same access to shelters as those in larger 
cities.  In addition, victims who are identified in small 
towns where the police might not fully understand immigration 
or criminal law, experience hurdles in managing the 
bureaucratic red tape they face.  It is difficult to get a 
reliable, total number of forced labor victims taken into 
care in 2008 because individual NGOS work on a case-by-case 
basis.  According to the Committee Against Modern Slavery, 
164 cases of forced labor were reported in France in 2008. 
In cases where the victim will be repatriated to their home 
country, France works with the country to ensure safety and 
provides funding (close to 3,000 USD) for medical care in the 
home country. 
 
-- D - F. France protects victims of trafficking; however, 
case-specific protection must be authorized by a judge.  This 
protection consists of two forms: a complete 24-hour-a-day 
protection for victims who will testify or a mixed protection 
program in which police work with NGOs to assure the 
protection of victims.  France does not have a far-reaching 
protection program like the U.S.  Once a trafficking victim 
is identified by the police or social services to the NGOs 
that work with the victims, the individual is given shelter, 
access to legal counsel, food, and medical care.  In order to 
qualify for the more robust victim program, victims must 
fulfill certain criteria (e.g., be a primary witness, be 
essential to the outcome of the trial, etc.).  For an 
individual to receive a residence permit, they must work with 
police to prosecute the traffickers.  The French government 
does not report the numbers of residence cards given each 
year.  The government provides training through the Ministry 
of Social Action to NGOs and social workers to help victims 
of trafficking.  Specifically, France works with the 
Association ALC, the Committee Against Modern Slavery, and 
L'amicale du NID to shelter and aid victims. 
 
-- G. The Government of France identified 1,300 as likely 
victims of human trafficking in 2008. 
 
-- H. The French Ministry of Economy, Industry, and 
Employment has decided to create and distribute pocket-sized 
cards to border police and NGOs on how to correctly identify 
trafficking victims.  Issues of victim identification and 
assistance are answered in part D - F. 
 
-- I - J. There is evidence that victims may be inadvertently 
penalized for unlawful acts that were committed as a direct 
result of being trafficked.  NGOs reported that women in 
prostitution are sometimes arrested and fined for 
solicitation without being screened to determine whether they 
are trafficking victims.  To victims of trafficking who work 
with police to prosecute traffickers, the Government of 
France provides witness protection services and issues 
one-year residence cards that can be renewed every six 
months. 
 
-- K. French military personnel receive training on 
trafficking and sexual abuse during their basic training. 
There is also a three-week training course given to 
peacekeepers before their departure.  During this course, 
instructors recount problems of sexual abuse and 
exploitation, and soldiers are given a card that reminds them 
of international human rights. France also supplies a legal 
advisor to deployed units, and this officer doubles as a 
human rights officer.  In this position, the officer assures 
that troops respect international norms and human rights. 
The French NGO Amicale du Nid reported that it is currently 
working with the Ministry of Defense to organize more 
specific trafficking training.  The French government has 
officials in 90 embassies around the world who act as a 
liaison with the host government on trafficking issues.  In 
addition, there are also French police officers in embassies 
in source countries who work on trafficking in persons 
issues.  The French Ministry of Economy, Industry, and 
 
PARIS 00000268  007 OF 008 
 
 
Employment decided in 2008 to create and distribute 
pocket-sized cards to border police and NGOs on how to 
correctly identify trafficking victims. 
 
-- L. There were no reports of French nationals as 
trafficking victims during the reporting period. 
 
-- M. NGOs and the French government work very closely to 
combat trafficking.  Specifically, France works with the 
Association ALC, the Committee Against Modern Slavery, and 
L'amicale du NID to shelter and aid victims.  The government 
has a working group to combat trafficking.  OCRTEH also works 
with immigration officials to report increases in trafficking 
and to combat trafficking. 
 
¶7. (U) PREVENTION: 
 
-- A. France recognizes that trafficking is a serious problem 
and actively works to combat it.  France funds 
anti-trafficking and anti-sex trade awareness campaigns in 
association with NGOs.  In cooperation with the French Soccer 
Federation, the Ministry of Health launched a campaign to 
fight trafficking in women.  The campaign sponsored media 
spots against prostitution to be shown at international 
soccer games.  The Ministry of the Interior funded a 
publicity campaign of posters depicting a nude woman with a 
bar code over her.  The poster says, "In France today, there 
are slaves for sale. It exists. Now you know..." In addition, 
Air France continues to show anti-sex trade films on buses 
between downtown Paris and major airports while also 
distributing anti-sex trade pamphlets on flights to 
sex-tourism destinations.  Airports similarly feature 
anti-trafficking and anti-sex trade posters inside terminals. 
 
-- B. The Government of France does not have a designated 
border-monitoring unit that focuses specifically on 
trafficking in persons.  But border officials are trained to 
spot trends in trafficking in persons, as well as organized 
crime and narcotics. 
 
-- C. NGOs and the French government work very closely to 
combat trafficking.  The government has a working group to 
combat trafficking, and OCRTEH also works with immigration 
officials to report increases in trafficking and to combat 
trafficking. During the reporting period and for the third 
year in a row, the government sponsored a nationwide 
conference that brought together enforcement officials, 
magistrates, and NGOs to discuss how better to improve 
communication and cooperation in protecting victims and 
preventing trafficking.  On May 29-30, the Government of 
France organized a seminar during its presidency of the EU to 
focus on trafficking in persons.  Minister of Interior 
Michele Alliot-Marie asked EU partners for better 
coordination in the fight against trafficking.  All of these 
factors lead post to believe that the national dialogue on 
TIP and prostitution have become becoming increasingly 
important in France. 
 
-- D. On December 2, the ministers of interior and justice 
established a multidisciplinary working group to create a 
national action plan on the protection of trafficking 
victims.  The group, composed of experts from French 
government ministries and European NGOs, has planned to meet 
on a regular basis to define the structure of a national 
coordination plan to place trafficking victims at the center 
of the fight against organized crime.  The national action 
plan focuses on procedures to combat trafficking. Government 
offices also meet with NGOS under the aegis of Cooperation 
Committee Against Sexual Exploitation to develop new 
proposals and encourage best practices that would update a 
2002 national action plan to fight trafficking. 
 
-- E - F: The French government continues to fund programs 
through airlines and tourism operators describing the 
penalties for child sex tourism.  Pamphlets given to tourists 
show a picture of a child and the message, "she is not 
merchandise."  The OCRTEH reported that The Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs researches and reports on indicators of child 
sex tourism abroad.  These data are used to warn French 
tourists of child sex tourism sites and to monitor increases 
in sexual tourism.  All Air France buses between Paris and 
the two Paris airports broadcast a video alerting tourists 
that their actions on foreign soil are subject to prosecution 
in France.  Club Med sends tourists traveling with their 
company to source countries documents detailing the penalties 
for engaging in sex with a minor.  All tourism students in 
France must do course work on sex tourism.  Students in 
French middle schools are also taught about the dangers of 
 
PARIS 00000268  008 OF 008 
 
 
internet chat rooms and sexual predators. 
 
-- G. French military personnel receive training on 
trafficking and sexual abuse during their basic training. 
There is also a three-week training course given to 
peacekeepers before their departure.  During this course, 
instructors recount problems of sexual abuse and 
exploitation, and soldiers are given a card that reminds them 
of international human rights. France also supplies a legal 
advisor to deployed units, and this officer doubles as a 
human rights officer.  In this position, the officer assures 
that troops respect international norms and human rights. 
The French NGO Amicale du Nid reported that it is currently 
working with the Ministry of Defense to organize more 
specific trafficking training. 
 
 
PEKALA