France

Case

An international call-girl ring headquartered in Paris, which charged up to $9,000 a night for its young women, was uncovered in June after a 16-year-old aspiring model from Sweden, was raped by a 70-year-old Lebanese banker aboard a luxury yacht in St. Tropez. Annika Brumark, charged with pimping on a large scale is believed to have had an address book including the names of 40 Scandinavian, French and British women. ("9-G-A-Night Call Girls Rocking Paris," New York Post, 24 September 1997)

Policy and Law

The number of prosecutions brought against pimps was almost halved in 7 years, from 1,300 in 1988 to 650 in 1995. (Marie-Victoire Louis, "Legalizing Pimping, Dutch Style" Le Monde Diplomatique, 8 March 1997)

According to French law, travelling which leads to sexual assaults against children in other countries tends to fall under the classification of "derelicts," a less serious crime, unless coercion or force can be proved, which requires proof of ''payment of remuneration" to the child by the alleged wrongdoer. This sets a very high standard of proof and neglects other situations where they maybe an exchange or other "in-kind" payment, rather than cash. ("Child sexploitation within the law’s reach," The Nation, 2 July 1997)

Case

Seven French men were convicted in Draguignan under a new French law for child sex tourism in Romania. They were sentenced to 5-15 years. (BBC, "French court jails men for sex tourism under new law," 29 October 1997)

Public Response

Officials at the World Tourism Fair taking place in France said leaflets warning against sex tourism were handed out in airports in Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands in July 1998. ("Campaign against sex tourism launched at Paris travel trade fair," Agence France Presse, 26 March 1998)

Cases

Two men were convicted in September 1997 of supplying pedophile videos to a nationwide network of clients. The man who shot the films in Colombia received a three-year sentence while the distributor of the films was jailed for two-and-a-half years. (BBC, 8 Nov 1997)

Nearly 70 people were fined or given suspended jail terms for possessing pedophile videos. Five men killed themselves after the highly publicized investigation. (BBC, 8 Nov 1997)

Policy and Law

As of July 1997, possession of child pornography is not a crime. ("Child sexploitation within the law's reach." The Nation, 02 Jul 1997)

Official Action and Response

The French government commissioned five pornographic films to promote condom use. Each five-to-eight-minute film dealt with a different scenario: sex between a man and one woman, a man and two successive women, and mild sado-masochism. ("France Uses Porn to Promote Condoms," Associated Press, 19 March 1998)