The Local France

Human traffickers prey on migrants and rescuers alike in French Alps

Wed, 07 Mar 2018 10:21:36 +0100

Five African migrants stumble through the snow, exhausted and numb, abandoned hours earlier by a smuggler who left them to make their own way down the mountain from Italy into France.

Modern slavery in France: The harsh reality that's ignored

Thu, 10 Mar 2016 17:13:47 +0100

Human rights chiefs in France have told authorities they must do more to prevent people from being forced to live as "modern day slaves".

UK to put €10 million into Calais migrant crisis

Thu, 20 Aug 2015 11:15:05 +0200

UPDATED: Britain and France announced a new "command and control centre" on Thursday to tackle smuggling gangs in Calais, as Europe grapples with its biggest migration crisis since World War II.

French couple trades €8k and a BMW for a baby

Tue, 07 Apr 2015 18:56:58 +0200

A family in southern France have defended their actions after they gave €8,000 and a used BMW in exchange for a newborn baby from Romania. The shocking story emerged as a gang of ten people went on trial for alleged trafficking of Roma babies.

Arrests made in France after trafficking bust

Sat, 10 Aug 2013 16:13:00 +0200

A human trafficking ring that smuggled Chinese migrants into Europe and the United States has been dismantled and 75 people have been arrested in France and Spain, Spanish police said on Saturday.

France ordered to pay drug traffickers damages

Thu, 27 Jun 2013 18:37:00 +0200

The European Court of Human Rights ordered France on Thursday to pay €5,000 each in compensation to three drug traffickers for breaching their rights after they were caught shipping three tonnes of pure cocaine across the Atlantic.

French police arrest 'pimping' church pastor

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 19:01:00 +0200

A 33-year-old pastor has been arrested for pimping by French police in Strasbourg, it was reported on Wednesday. Two younger women are believed to have played the role of "madams" in the procurement of people and the sale of sex.

French police bust Vietnamese drugs mafia

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 12:34:00 +0100

A family-run network that smuggled illegal Vietnamese immigrants into Britain and France to work on drug farms, has been busted by the French police.

Police bust Balkan child trafficking ring in Nancy

Fri, 26 Oct 2012 13:52:00 +0200

French police have arrested seven people for running an international child trafficking ring in Nancy, north east France.

Appeal launched over sex slave conviction

Tue, 04 Sep 2012 19:33:22 +0200

The appeal trial began Tuesday of four people convicted of forcing a young French woman into a life of slavery and sexual violence in a trailer park near Paris.

French police make big cannabis hauls

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 12:34:56 +0200

More than nine tonnes of cannabis have been seized by authorities in France so far this year, due to more international coorperation according to specialists.

Great pussy purge puzzles French town

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 12:02:58 +0100

In 2011, several hundred cats disappeared in the town of Angers. Animal protection groups suspect that a fur trafficker or a madmen might be attacking the cats.

French watchdog 'targeted left-wing police'

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 12:58:00 +0100

The French police watchdog is being investigated for rigging an investigation into an alleged trafficking ring within the police to discredit policemen close to the Socialist Party.