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TO RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS IMMEDIATE 4932
INFO RUEHMRE/AMCONSUL MARSEILLE IMMEDIATE 2033

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 STATE 061050 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KTIP ELAB KCRM KPAO KWMN PGOV PHUM PREL SMIG FR
SUBJECT: FRANCE -- 2009 TIP REPORT: PRESS GUIDANCE AND 
DEMARCHE 
 
REF: A. (A) STATE 59732 
     ¶B. (B) STATE 005577 
 
 ¶1. This is an action cable; see paras 5 through 7 and 10. 
 
¶2. On June 16, 2009, at 10:00 a.m. EDT, the Secretary will 
release the 2009 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report at a 
press conference in the Department's press briefing room. 
This release will receive substantial coverage in domestic 
and foreign news outlets.  Until the time of the Secretary's 
June 16 press conference, any public release of the Report or 
country narratives contained therein is prohibited. 
 
¶3. The Department is hereby providing Post with advance press 
guidance to be used on June 16 or thereafter.  Also provided 
is demarche language to be used in informing the Government 
of France of its tier ranking and the TIP Report's imminent 
release.  The text of the TIP Report country narrative is 
provided, both for use in informing the Government of France 
and in any local media release by Post's public affairs 
section on June 16 or thereafter.  Drawing on information 
provided below in paras 8 and 9, Post may provide the host 
government with the text of the TIP Report narrative no 
earlier than 1200 noon local time Monday June 15 for WHA, AF, 
EUR, and NEA countries and OOB local time Tuesday June 16 for 
SCA and EAP posts.  Please note, however, that any public 
release of the Report's information should not/not precede 
the Secretary's release at 10:00 am EDT on June 16. 
 
¶4. The entire TIP Report will be available on-line at 
www.state.gov/g/tip shortly after the Secretary's June 16 
release.  Hard copies of the Report will be pouched to posts 
in all countries appearing on the Report.  The Secretary's 
statement at the June 16 press event, and the statement of 
and fielding of media questions by G/TIP,s Director and 
Senior Advisor to the Secretary, Ambassador-at-Large Luis 
CdeBaca, will be available on the Department's website 
shortly after the June 16 event.  Ambassador de Baca will 
also hold a general briefing for officials of foreign 
embassies in Washington DC on June 17 at 3:30 pm EDT. 
 
¶5. Action Request: No earlier than 12 noon local time on 
Monday June 15 for WHA, AF, EUR, and NEA posts and OOB local 
time on Tuesday June 16 for SCA and EAP posts, please inform 
the appropriate official in the Government of France of the 
June 16 release of the 2009 TIP Report, drawing on the points 
in para 9 (at Post's discretion) and including the text of 
the country narrative provided in para 8.  For countries 
where the State Department has lowered the tier ranking, it 
is particularly important to advise governments prior to the 
Report being released in Washington on June 16. 
 
¶6. Action Request continued:  Please note that, for those 
countries which will not receive an "action plan" with 
specific recommendations for improvement, posts should draw 
host governments' attention to the areas for improvement 
identified in the 2009 Report, especially highlighted in the 
"Recommendations" section of the second paragraph of the 
narrative text.  This engagement is important to establishing 
the framework in which the government's performance will be 
judged for the 2010 Report.  If posts have questions about 
which governments will receive an action plan, or how they 
may follow up on the recommendations in the 2009 Report, 
please contact G/TIP and the appropriate regional bureau. 
 
¶7. Action Request continued: On June 16, please be prepared 
to answer media inquiries on the Report's release using the 
press guidance provided in para 11.  If Post wishes, a local 
press statement may be released on or after 10:30 am EDT June 
16, drawing on the press guidance and the text of the TIP 
Report's country narrative provided in para 8. 
 
¶8. Begin Final Text of France,s country narrative in the 
2009 TIP Report: 
 
-------------------------------- 
France (TIER 1) 
 
France is a destination country for women and girls 
trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation from 
Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Cameroon, 
and Malaysia and other Asian countries.  Men, women and 
children continued to be trafficked for the purposes of 
forced labor, including domestic servitude, many from Africa. 
 Often their &employers8 are diplomats who enjoy diplomatic 
immunity, including those from Saudi Arabia.   The government 
estimates that of the 15,000 to 18,000 women in France,s 
 
STATE 00061050  002 OF 005 
 
 
commercial sex trade, the majority ) possibly 10,000 to 
12,000 ) are likely victims of sex trafficking.  The 
government identified 1,002 trafficking victims in 2007, of 
which 76 percent were foreigners.  There is a significant 
number of Romanian minors in France, many of whom are 
vulnerable to trafficking.   Many traffickers evade law 
enforcement detection by acquiring fake Sudanese passports to 
claim asylum or acquire fake Romanian passports to avoid visa 
requirements. The Committee Against Modern Slavery reported 
that there were 164 cases of forced labor in France in 2008. 
 
Reports continued of trafficking from Brazil to the French 
overseas territory of French Guiana.  There are also a number 
of young women in prostitution from Haiti and the Dominican 
Republic in French Guiana, some of whom may be vulnerable to 
trafficking. There is evidence some Chinese laborers in 
French Guiana may be in conditions of forced labor.  French 
authorities there reported that they regularly investigate 
sex work cases to identify potential trafficking victims, 
though none have been identified. 
 
The Government of France fully complies with the minimum 
standards for the elimination of trafficking.  The French 
government took steps to improve its overall coordination on 
trafficking and provided training to improve identification 
and protection of trafficking victims. 
Recommendations for France:  Increase efforts to put to use 
France,s anti-trafficking statute; enhance collection and 
compilation of law enforcement data on trafficking ; ensure 
trafficking victims are not inappropriately penalized solely 
for unlawful acts as a result of being trafficked; establish 
a formal national referral mechanism and procedures for 
victim identification among vulnerable populations, such as 
those in prostitution, domestic and other labor sectors; 
follow-through on plans to create a more victim-centered 
approach to trafficking in France, including measures to 
ensure victims who denounce their traffickers are provided 
with adequate safety and support; and intensify 
investigations of potential trafficking cases in French 
Guiana and report on assistance provided to identified 
victims. 
Prosecution 
------------ 
The Government of France demonstrated progress in its efforts 
to investigate, prosecute, convict, and sentence trafficking 
offenders.  France prohibits trafficking for both sexual and 
labor exploitation through Article 225 of its penal code, 
which prescribes penalties that are sufficiently stringent 
and commensurate with those prescribed for rape.  The 
Ministry of Interior dismantled 30 trafficking networks in 
France in 2008.   The Ministry of Justice reported that 19 
individuals were convicted in France under anti-trafficking 
laws in 2007, the latest year for which official prosecution 
data is available.  All 19 were serving jail time of up to 
seven years.  French officials continued to rely almost 
exclusively on anti-pimping provisions of the country,s 
penal code to investigate and prosecute suspected sex 
trafficking offenses.  They also prosecuted labor trafficking 
offenders under other statutes. During the reporting period, 
the government trained some 200 prosecutors to make better 
use of France,s anti-trafficking law instead of relying 
primarily on anti-pimping laws to address sex trafficking 
offenses.    In October 2008, the French government created a 
joint anti-trafficking unit with Belgian law enforcement 
counterparts, reportedly the first of its kind within the EU. 
 
 
Officials in French Guiana reported two trafficking 
investigations in the territory during the reporting period, 
one involving the possible forced labor of Chinese victims 
and the other a sex trafficking case involving a Brazilian 
minor.  There were no reported prosecutions or convictions of 
trafficking offenders in French Guiana during the reporting 
period. 
 
Protection 
----------- 
The Government of France demonstrated progress in the 
protection of trafficking victims during the reporting 
period.  In November, the Minister of Justice announced an 
additional $14.7 million in support for victim protection for 
¶2009.  The government provided training to law enforcement 
personnel to increase their identification of potential 
trafficking victims and created and distributed pocket-sized 
cards containing victim identification guidelines to border 
police and NGOs in 2008.   In 2008, the French government 
continued implementation of its 2003 Domestic Security law 
that allowed for arrest and fining of potential sex 
trafficking victims for &passive solicitation.8  Out of 
1,072 women in prostitution arrested for soliciting, 881 were 
foreigners and identified by the government as likely 
trafficking victims.  The government of France reported they 
 
STATE 00061050  003 OF 005 
 
 
were not charged or imprisoned; it is unknown whether or not 
the government referred them to service providers for 
assistance.  NGOs and international experts continued to 
criticize the government's lack of a proactive approach to 
identifying trafficking victims.  According to NGOs, 
including Amnesty International, trafficking victims are 
treated as offenders, arrested, and charged for soliciting 
prostitution, and foreign victims are likely deported. 
According to an Amnesty International Report, some victims of 
trafficking have been accused of  living off immoral 
earnings, alongside their traffickers.   The government has 
challenged the report,s findings.  NGOs complained that the 
government did not employ systematic efforts to ensure 
victims access to shelter and services provided by NGOs 
through a formal referral process. 
 
The national government and city of Paris continued to fund 
NGOs providing a network of services and shelter for 
trafficking victims.  In cases in which victims were 
repatriated to their home country, the government worked with 
the relevant government to ensure safety and medical care. 
The French government provided witness protection services 
and issued one-year residency cards, which can be renewed 
every subsequent six months, to victims of trafficking who 
cooperated with authorities in the investigation and 
prosecution of traffickers.   The national government did not 
provide data on the total number of victims given shelter and 
assistance or the number that received residence cards in 
¶2008.  NGOs claim that some trafficking victims who denounced 
their traffickers were never granted residency papers, or 
received very provisional residency permits and were offered 
no protection from retaliation.  In 2008, Paris police 
reported issuance of 92 residency permits to undocumented 
migrants believed to have been victims of trafficking.  The 
government provided funding to victims, including a monthly 
stipend of $464, as well as medical care, legal counsel, 
shelter, and psychological counseling.  The Government of 
France formally assists trafficking victims seeking return to 
their countries of origin, though only five percent usually 
decide to do so. 
 
The government made some progress on renewing a bilateral 
agreement with Romania to continue cooperation on the 
protection, return, and reintegration of Romanian 
unaccompanied minors, but has not yet ratified this 2007 
agreement. 
National and local authorities in French Guiana indicated a 
sensitivity to allegations that individuals have been forced 
into prostitution or in labor sectors, including illegal 
mining, but to date have identified only two possible cases 
of trafficking. 
 
Prevention 
------------- 
The Government of France continued to fund trafficking 
prevention campaigns in association with NGOs during the 
reporting period, including an NGO awareness campaign aimed 
at reducing the demand for commercial sex acts.   In 2008, 
the government sponsored a nationwide conference to bring 
together law enforcement officials and NGOs to improve 
cooperation and communication in protecting victims and 
preventing trafficking.  In December 2008, the government 
established a multi-disciplinary working group to create a 
national action plan on the protection of trafficking 
victims.  OCRTEH (Central Office for the Repression of 
Trafficking in Persons) continued to serve as the 
government,s operational and political focal point on 
trafficking. The government provided all French military 
personnel with general training on trafficking during their 
basic training.  There was also a three-week general training 
given to French military personnel before their deployment 
abroad for international peacekeeping missions. 
 
The government provided funding for an NGO to place several 
advertisements in French weekly and travel magazines warning 
possible sex tourists against engaging in sex with minors. 
In August 2008, authorities arrested and indicted a high 
school professor on charges related to child sex tourism 
committed in Burma and Thailand.  In March 2009, two men were 
convicted in a French court on child sex tourism charges 
stemming from their acts in Cambodia and Thailand; the court 
handed them the maximum penalty of seven years in prison. 
Sex tourism from French Guiana to Oiapoque and other 
destinations in Brazil has been reported. 
-------------------------------- 
 
 
¶9. Post may wish to deliver the following points, which offer 
technical and legal background on the TIP Report process, to 
the host government as a non-paper with the above TIP Report 
country narrative: 
 
 
STATE 00061050  004 OF 005 
 
 
(begin non-paper) 
 
-- The U.S. Congress, through its passage of the 2000 
Trafficking Victims Protection Act, as amended (TVPA), 
requires the Secretary of State to submit an annual Report to 
Congress.  The goal of this Report is to stimulate action and 
create partnerships around the world in the fight against 
modern-day slavery.  The USG approach to combating human 
trafficking follows the TVPA and the standards set forth in 
the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in 
Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the 
United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized 
Crime (commonly known as the "Palermo Protocol").  The TVPA 
and the Palermo Protocol recognize that this is a crime in 
which the victims, labor or services (including in the "sex 
industry") are obtained or maintained through force, fraud, 
or coercion, whether overt or through psychological 
manipulation.  While much attention has focused on 
international flows, both the TVPA and the Palermo Protocol 
focus on the exploitation of the victim, and do not require a 
showing that the victim was moved. 
 
-- Recent amendments to the TVPA removed the requirement that 
only countries with a "significant number" of trafficking 
victims be included in the Report. Beginning with the 2009 
TIP Report, countries determined to be a country of origin, 
transit, or destination for victims of severe forms of 
trafficking are included in the Report and assigned to one of 
three tiers.  Countries assessed as meeting the "minimum 
standards for the elimination of severe forms of trafficking" 
set forth in the TVPA are classified as Tier 1.  Countries 
assessed as not fully complying with the minimum standards, 
but making significant efforts to meet those minimum 
standards are classified as Tier 2.  Countries assessed as 
neither complying with the minimum standards nor making 
significant efforts to do so are classified as Tier 3. 
 
-- The TVPA also requires the Secretary of State to provide a 
"Special Watch List" to Congress later in the year. 
Anti-trafficking efforts of the countries on this list are to 
be evaluated again in an Interim Assessment that the 
Secretary of State must provide to Congress by February 1 of 
each year.  Countries are included on the "Special Watch 
List" if they move up in "tier" rankings in the annual TIP 
Report -- from 3 to 2 or from 2 to 1 ) or if they have been 
placed on the Tier 2 Watch List. 
 
-- Tier 2 Watch List consists of Tier 2 countries determined: 
(1) not to have made "increasing efforts" to combat human 
trafficking over the past year; (2) to be making significant 
efforts based on commitments of anti-trafficking reforms over 
the next year, or (3) to have a very significant number of 
trafficking victims or a significantly increasing victim 
population.  As indicated in reftel B, the TVPRA of 2008 
contains a provision requiring that a country that has been 
included on Tier 2 Watch List for two consecutive years after 
the date of enactment of the TVPRA of 2008 be ranked as Tier 
¶3.  Thus, any automatic downgrade to Tier 3 pursuant to this 
provision would take place, at the earliest, in the 2011 TIP 
Report (i.e., a country would have to be ranked Tier 2 Watch 
List in the 2009 and 2010 Reports before being subject to 
Tier 3 in the 2011 Report).  The new law allows for a waiver 
of this provision for up to two additional years upon a 
determination by the President that the country has developed 
and devoted sufficient resources to a written plan to make 
significant efforts to bring itself into compliance with the 
minimum standards. 
 
-- Countries classified as Tier 3 may be subject to statutory 
restrictions for the subsequent fiscal year on 
non-humanitarian and non-trade-related foreign assistance 
and, in some circumstances, withholding of funding for 
participation by government officials or employees in 
educational and cultural exchange programs.   In addition, 
the President could instruct the U.S. executive directors to 
international financial institutions to oppose loans or other 
utilization of funds (other than for humanitarian, 
trade-related or certain types of development assistance) 
with respect to countries on Tier 3.  Countries classified as 
Tier 3 that take strong action within 90 days of the Report's 
release to show significant efforts against trafficking in 
persons, and thereby warrant a reassessment of their Tier 
classification, would avoid such sanctions.  Guidelines for 
such actions are in the DOS-crafted action plans to be shared 
by Posts with host governments. 
 
-- The 2009 TIP Report, issuing as it does in the midst of 
the global financial crisis, highlights high levels of 
trafficking for forced labor in many parts of the world and 
systemic contributing factors to this phenomenon:  fraudulent 
recruitment practices and excessive recruiting fees in 
workers, home countries; the lack of adequate labor 
 
STATE 00061050  005 OF 005 
 
 
protections in both sending and receiving countries; and the 
flawed design of some destination countries, "sponsorship 
systems" that do not give foreign workers adequate legal 
recourse when faced with conditions of forced labor.  As the 
May 2009 ILO Global Report on Forced Labor concluded, forced 
labor victims suffer approximately $20 billion in losses, and 
traffickers, profits are estimated at $31 billion.  The 
current global financial crisis threatens to increase the 
number of victims of forced labor and increase the associated 
"cost of coercion." 
 
-- The text of the TVPA and amendments can be found on 
website www.state.gov/g/tip. 
 
-- On June 16, 2009, the Secretary of State will release the 
ninth annual TIP Report in a public event at the State 
Department.  We are providing you an advance copy of your 
country's narrative in that report.  Please keep this 
information embargoed until 10:00 am Washington DC time June 
¶16.  The State Department will also hold a general briefing 
for officials of foreign embassies in Washington DC on June 
17 at 3:30 pm EDT. 
 
(end non-paper) 
 
¶10. Posts should make sure that the relevant country 
narrative is readily available on or though the Mission's web 
page in English and appropriate local language(s) as soon as 
possible after the TIP Report is released.  Funding for 
translation costs will be handled as it was for the Human 
Rights Report.  Posts needing financial assistance for 
translation costs should contact their regional bureau,s EX 
office. 
 
¶11. The following is press guidance provided for Post to use 
with local media. 
 
Q1: Why was France given a rank of Tier 1? 
 
A: The Government of France fully complies with the minimum 
standards for the elimination of trafficking. 
 
Q2: What progress has France made in the past year? 
 
The French government took steps to improve its overall 
coordination on trafficking and provided training to improve 
identification and protection of trafficking victims. 
 
Q3: What can France do to improve its fight against 
trafficking in persons? 
 
To improve its anti-trafficking performance, the French 
government could: increase efforts to put to use France,s 
anti-trafficking statute; enhance collection and compilation 
of law enforcement data on trafficking ; ensure trafficking 
victims are not inappropriately penalized solely for unlawful 
acts as a result of being trafficked; establish a formal 
national referral mechanism and procedures for victim 
identification among vulnerable populations, such as those in 
prostitution, domestic and other labor sectors; 
follow-through on plans to create a more victim-centered 
approach to trafficking in France, including measures to 
ensure victims who denounce their traffickers are provided 
with adequate safety and support; and intensify 
investigations of potential trafficking cases in French 
Guiana and report on assistance provided to identified 
victims. 
 
¶12. The Department appreciates posts, assistance with the 
preceding action requests. 
CLINTON