Population:

60 million

Number of prostitutes:

20 - 40,000

Of which migrant:

Unknown

De Jure

Prostitution:

"Prostitution is not against the law."

Trafficking:

Whilst there is no specific law against trafficking, it is outlawed by the laws governing prostitution, with a penalty of 20 years.

The offence of belonging to an 'association of malefactors' is punishable by twenty years' imprisonment; the penalties for living off others' immoral earnings and for forcing others into prostitution are five and ten years respectively.

De Facto

But prostitutes are not allowed to tout on the public highway. Procuring is also illegal. A prostitute is the only one person who can use the money she earns. If she is married and buys food for the family her husband can be prosecuted as a procurer.

In parallel to the penal approach, numerous actions for prevention, aid to the victims and the social reintegration of prostitutes are carried out by local or national NGOs, with financial support from the state.

Further new legal provisions are aimed at encouraging local coordination of official services, on the grounds that the problem of prostitution requires a social approach but also falls under the fight against discrimination, violence and outrages against human dignity

France is active against traffickers: sixteen international rings linked to organised crime were dismantled in 1998, of which the largest included eastern European operations based in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Russia, Ukraine and Albania.

France is less affected by the problem than Belgium or the Netherlands. Police sources say that traffickers are deterred by the severity of the French penal code.