Tobacco illicit in France: Gabrielle Attal presents measures to ‘pursue and defuse’ networks

“I want to hit hard.” It was in these words that the Minister of Public Accounts, Gabriel Attal, mentioned in the Sunday newspaper his new plan aimed at strengthening the fight against illicit tobacco trafficking. The phenomenon of self-recognition in a complete “explosion” in France. His plan for the period from 2023 to 2025 is due to be presented on Monday in the Pyrenees-Orientales, one of France’s favorite tobacco smuggling routes.

Stated ambition? “Dry traffic and harass traffickers,” he insisted. In this regard, the minister in charge of customs plans to deploy a dozen vans equipped with X-ray scanners capable of screening a vehicle in sixty seconds, worth 45 million euros, according to a document obtained by AFP.

“Every year it is planned to dismantle ten networks”

The plan also announces the formation of anti-tobacco control teams, modeled on those tested in Lyon, “capable of conducting operational operations and investigations” in the nine main identified smuggling areas of the country. “We have set ourselves the goal of dismantling ten networks every year,” warns Gabriel Attal.

A “cybertobacco” network will also be established to track traffic on the Internet or social media, and efforts will be made to develop “scientific customs” tools that will trace the origin of smuggled tobacco in order to better identify traffic patterns.

Gabriel Attal finally points to the discovery of speculations with his colleague the Keeper of the Seals, Eric Dupont-Moretti, to “strengthen criminal sanctions” against buyers, sellers, and manufacturers of contraband tobacco. “I set a clear task for the customs – to stop the rapid movement of the parallel market by 2025,” the minister concludes.

More than 600 tons of smuggled tobacco seized in 2022

As a sign of the vitality of the movement, customs discovered in December 2021 and in September last year in the same city of Poincy (Seine-et-Marne) two “factories” for clandestine production of cigarettes, the first of which was dismantled in France.

According to statistics released by customs, more than 284 tons of smuggled tobacco were seized in 2020, 402 tons in 2021, and over 600 tons in the first ten months of 2022, including more than two-thirds of cigarettes.

“This crime also represents a tax loss of 2.5 to 3 billion euros for the state. It also severely punishes tobacco sellers, who nevertheless play an important role in cohesion of the territories and social ties,” the minister continued.