On 4th June 2026, Ambassador Michel Veuthey attended a seminar on minor’s prostitution networks in France organized by the Court of Appeal of Paris and the Ministry of Justice.<\/p>\n
https:\/\/www.cours-appel.justice.fr\/paris\/colloque-sur-les-reseaux-de-proxenetisme-des-mineurs<\/p>\n
Panel\u00a01 :\u00a0Fight Against Prostitution Networks<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span>Speakers:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0Eric MATHAIS, Public Prosecutor of\u00a0Bobigny\u00a0\/ Valentine ALTMAYER, Chief Superintendent, Brigade for the Protection of Minors \/ Mathilde DELOUX, Magistrate at the Directorate of Criminal Affairs and Pardons (DACG), Bureau for the Fight against\u00a0Organised\u00a0Crime, Terrorism and Money Laundering \/ Alice MAZIERE, Magistrate, Mission Officer at the Inter-Ministerial Mission for the Protection of Women against Violence and the Fight against Human Trafficking \/ Vanessa BOUSARDO, Barrister, former Vice-Chair of the Paris Bar \/ Anne-Dominique MERVILLE, Advocate General<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span>This first panel was dedicated to the fight against prostitution networks in France, a phenomenon whose scale has been growing steadily in recent years. Between 2017 and 2024, cases increased by 168%, with 171 files handled in 2025 by the Paris criminal investigation department alone. Most alarming is the sharp rise in the number of minors exploited by these networks, accounting for approximately 44% of victims\u00a0identified\u00a0by law enforcement. Faced with this deeply troubling phenomenon, it was noted that criminal and judicial resources are critically lacking, with the Brigade for the Protection of Minors having only 7 dedicated investigators.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Compounding this, the\u00a0digitalisation\u00a0of networks and the lack of cooperation from certain online platforms\u00a0represent\u00a0a major threat. Encrypted messaging applications and\u00a0anonymised\u00a0telephony obstruct the collection of evidence, while certain platforms such as Booking.com and Airbnb, on which apartments are rented for prostitution purposes, have been unwilling to cooperate with law enforcement. Speakers also highlighted the difficulty of interviewing victims, whether due to their refusal to cooperate or to the trauma they have suffered and the various substances they have ingested, most notably nitrous oxide, which impair their memory.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n To address these challenges, the speakers underlined the need to\u00a0favour\u00a0the legal qualification of human trafficking, as it offers procedural advantages, including recourse to special investigative techniques and other exceptional legal frameworks.\u00a0The role of support associations was equally\u00a0emphasised, with 66% of complaints being filed when such associations are involved. The Ministry of Justice also highlighted the strengthening of training for magistrates\u00a0in the area of\u00a0human trafficking. Finally, the prosecution of clients\u00a0remains\u00a0a blind spot that requires greater attention, with fewer than 10% of cases leading to charges being brought against them.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Panel 2: Protecting Minor Victims of Prostitution Networks<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Speakers:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0Delphine JARRAUD, Secretary General of the association\u00a0L’Amicale\u00a0du\u00a0Nid\u00a0\/ Magali FOUGERE-RICAUD, Magistrate seconded to the City of Paris, Head of the Bureau of Law and Adoption within the Directorate of Social Solidarity \/ Virgile BALES, Children’s Judge in\u00a0Cr\u00e9teil\u00a0\/ Alexandra LECOCQ, Barrister at the Versailles Court of Appeal, specialist in children’s law and former Secretary of the Conference \/ Anne COQUET, Lawyer General<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This second panel focused on the protection and support of minor victims of prostitution networks. The speakers began by offering an overview of the issue: 94% of victims are girls, 99% of clients are men, with approximately 50,000 active listings every day and\u00a0nearly 430,000\u00a0daily visitors on the main platforms. It was also highlighted that the average age of entry into prostitution is 15, but that an increasing number of\u00a0very young\u00a0victims (aged 10 to 12), are being reported, which illustrates the extreme gravity of the situation. Furthermore, victims very often present profiles of significant vulnerability: many are living in care homes, and as many as 77% have suffered sexual violence prior to their exploitation.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n To better combat the phenomenon, speakers stressed the importance of child welfare services\u00a0establishing\u00a0a dedicated body with weekly case reviews, shared action plans, and reporting\u00a0forms\u00a0 that\u00a0feed into criminal investigations. Inter-institutional coordination was also identified as crucial: a rapid and\u00a0synchronised\u00a0educational,\u00a0judicial\u00a0and healthcare response is essential in order not to miss the window of opportunity when a minor seeks help. Finally, the lack of prevention was noted, including insufficient training for professionals, as well as a far too low rate of prosecutions of clients,\u00a0leaving impunity\u00a0largely unchallenged, which was identified as a structural factor that very broadly sustains the entire system.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","news_gallery":"no"},"news_categories":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nohumantrafficking.orderofmalta.int\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/notizie\/6942","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nohumantrafficking.orderofmalta.int\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/notizie"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nohumantrafficking.orderofmalta.int\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nohumantrafficking.orderofmalta.int\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/notizie\/6942\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6945,"href":"https:\/\/nohumantrafficking.orderofmalta.int\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/notizie\/6942\/revisions\/6945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nohumantrafficking.orderofmalta.int\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6942"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}