National Law - France

In France, trafficking in human beings is mainly addressed by public authorities in the context of prostitution. France's national legislation complies with the minimum requirements of certain international conventions that have been ratified by the country including:

- UN Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others

- UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women

- Additional Protocol to the UN Convention against United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime

State representatives often reassert France's attachment to the "abolitionist" regime, which condemns procuring and organisation of prostitution.

Prostitution is, therefore, not regarded as an illegal act. It is a result of a private act between consenting adults.

The fight against procurement has been going on constantly for decades. It has been organised under the authority of the Central Office against the Trafficking of Persons (OCRETH), which is part of the Central Direction of the Judicial Police (Interior Ministry).

The legal framework concerning prostitution is determined by two legislative documents :

1. The Ordinances 60-1245 and 60-1246 promulgated by the government on the 26^th of November 1960
It contains two parts :
o A section that reprimands procuring, with penalties of up to 5 years of imprisonment and 15 245 euros for the most basic form and 10 years of imprisonment and 1 500 000 euros for the most severe form.
o A section that provides support to prostitutes, who are regarded as victims. Specialised social services must, according to the ordinances, be created in every department (today only ten or so have been put in place).

2. The Internal Security Act (Loi pour la Sécurité Intérieure) of the 18^th of March 2003.
One part of this Act relates to prostitution and another to the trafficking of persons. It is first and foremost an act based on security, and it attempts to address questions concerning law and order and illegal immigration.

Prostitution

Prostitution is not, in principle, forbidden in France as long as it is a private act that takes place freely between consenting adults. The exploitation of prostitution and those who try to organise it are clearly forbidden.

The law also limits prostitution by penalising its visibility, which is seen as a disturbance to law and order (soliciting, exhibitionism, public order, disturbance to car traffic...).

Soliciting
Art. 225-10-1 of the Penal Code:

"The act, of any type, including a passive act, of publicly soliciting with the intent of inciting another person to enter into sexual relations in exchange for payment or promise of payment is punished by two months in prison and 3750 euros".

This very broad definition can be interpreted in many ways and has led to criminal charges being actively contested by many French NGOs. The interpretation of soliciting passively is left to the discretion of the police force.

Procuring
Articles 225-9 and 225-10 of the Penal Code punish basic procuring :

It is an offence t "aid, abet , protect, make a profit, share the revenues of prostitution, receive subsidies, hire, train, misappropriate, place pressure on another to constrain, or maintain the prostitution of a third party, punishable by a maximum of 5 years' imprisonment and a fine of 15 425 euros. Associated with sentencing is the loss of civil and family rights".

Articles 225-7 and 225-7-1 of the Penal Code punish aggravated procuring:
It is a crime when it is exercised by: a group; someone having legitimate influence or having authority; someone whose function is: combating procurement, health protection, law and order; or combating procurement a person carrying an arm, a legally-recognised establishment; an Internet or Minitel user; a hotel-owner that is engaged in procurement; someone using constraint or violence. This crime is punishable by 10 years' imprisonment and a fine of 1 500 000 euros.

A spouse or partner may be asked to justify for his or her means of incomes if he or she does not want to be accused of procuring. If someone cannot reasonably explain his or her means of incomes, he or she can be punished by 7 years imprisonment and a 750 000 euros fine (Art. 225-4-8).

Minors and Disabled Persons

The law relative to parental authority (2002): prohibition of the prostitution of minors

« Soliciting, accepting, or obtaining, in exchange for remuneration or a promise of remuneration, sexual relations with a minor who engages in prostitution, even if not regularly, is punished by three years' imprisonment and a fine of 45,000 euros»

The Internal Security Act (2003) punishes heavily the abuse of a person whose particular vulnerability (due to age, sickness, disability, mental or physical deficiency or state of pregnancy) is "apparent or known to the offender".

The Act of the 1^st of February 1994, known as the Extra-territorial Act, provides for the pursuit and trial in France of a French national accused of a sexual act, committed abroad on a minor of age fifteen or less in exchange for remuneration, even if this offence is not prohibited in the country.

Trafficking in human beings

The act of March 18^th, 2003 on Internal Security introduced into French law the criminalisation of "trafficking in human beings".

Art. 225-4-1 of the penal code : "Trafficking in persons is the act, in exchange of payment or any kind of benefit or promise of benefit, to recruit, transport, transfer, host or accommodate a person, to put him or her at the service of a third party, even unknown, in order either to facilitate against this person infractions of procurement, sexual aggression or harm, begging exploitation, working or living conditions contrary to human dignity, or to coerce this person to commit any crime or offence."

Trafficking in human beings can be punished by 7 years of imprisonment and a 150 000-euro fine, up to life imprisonment and a 4 500 000-euro fine in case of barbaric acts of torture.

Trafficking is considered severe when it is committed on a minor or a vulnerable person, as well as when there is evidence of threat, constraint, violence or fraud with respect to the victim, his or her relatives, or anyone in a regular relationship with the victim in or outside of France.

The punishment is considered more serious when trafficking is committed by an organised group.

Traffic Victim Protection:

The law states:
Article 42: "Every victim of prostitution exploitation must benefit from a system of protection and assistance, assured and coordinated by the administration in active collaboration with various social intervention services."

However, aide provided to victims is conditional. A Stay Permit will only be accorded in exchange for cooperation by testimony.

Article 76 of LSI is quoted from "Code de l'entrée et du séjour des étrangers et du droit d'asile" (The code of foreign Entry and Stay and Right of Asylum).

Articles L.316-1,"Unless one's presence constitutes a menace to public order, a provisional Stay Authorisation (renewable between 3 to 6 months) may be provided to the foreigner who present a plea against a person whom he or she accuses of having committed any of the infractions explained in articles 225-5 to 225-10 of the penal code or witnessed in a penal procedure concerning a person pursued for the same infractions. This Stay Permit affords an individual the right to work in the country.

If the accused person is convicted, a Residence Permit (10 years) may be provided to the foreigner who presented a statement or testimony."

Hosting and accommodating the victims :

The Family Code states that places in Accommodation and Reintegration Centres must allocated to victims of human trafficking in secure conditions. The Internal Security Act gives details concerning the parameters of protection, accommodation and the issuance of residence permits. Although it has been two years since this act came into force, the act has not been published and the terms of enforcement have not been specified to the different sections of the public administration in charge of implementing this measure. As a consequence, the application of the law is very inconsistent among departments.

The Ministry for Employment and Social Cohesion is financing a national plan for the accommodation and protection of victims of trafficking: the Ac.Sé plan. Its creation predates the Internal Security Act.

Indemnification of victims

Theoretically a victim of trafficking has access to an indemnification fund, according to the law known as the Perben 2 law (2004-204; 9 March 2004). However, there is currently no official document which specifies whether there are precise parameters to this indemnification, especially concerning the regulation of one's stay in France at the time of the events (which is an essential condition in general law).

All in all, French associations specialising in the assistance and reintegration of victims of human trafficking are facing a great deal of difficulty in enforcing these measures which support whose situations are ambiguous (are they victims or witnesses?) and often suspect (are they really victims or illegal migrants trying to use the system?).