UNICEF report exposes trafficking of Algerian children by criminal networks in France

A disturbing new report by UNICEF, released in conjunction with the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, has shed light on a harrowing scandal unfolding within French borders. The findings reveal the widespread exploitation of Algerian and Moroccan children by criminal networks operating in France—children who are being coerced into theft, drug trafficking, prostitution, and cross-border smuggling activities.

Published by international media outlets, including France’s Le Figaro, the report unveils a grim underside of migration in France and delivers a pointed condemnation of the French authorities' failure to protect vulnerable minors. UNICEF’s data paints a stark picture: more than two-thirds of victims of criminal exploitation in France are minors, with an overwhelming 92% identified as unaccompanied children—most of them originating from Algeria and Morocco, Caliber.Az reports, citing Algerian media.

These children, who should fall under the care and protection of the French state, are instead falling prey to well-organized and insidious criminal enterprises. Lacking legal safeguards and adequate humanitarian intervention, they are routinely forced into criminal activity and subjected to psychological and physical coercion.

According to the report, the scope of exploitation is vast. Children are manipulated into committing crimes ranging from petty theft and narcotics distribution to prostitution and involvement in illicit smuggling operations. The situation is particularly grave in northern France, where minors are coerced into piloting migrant boats across the Channel to the UK or breaking into trucks to smuggle migrants—dangerous tasks carried out under duress.

The report highlights the chilling methods used by traffickers to exert control over these minors. Victims are frequently misled with false promises of safe passage, or entrapped in cycles of artificial debt. In some cases, they are forcibly addicted to substances like Rivotril—a drug used to sedate and psychologically debilitate them, leaving them more vulnerable to manipulation.

Even more alarming is the way these children are treated by the French legal system. Instead of being recognized as victims of trafficking, many are prosecuted as criminals. UNICEF unequivocally criticized this approach, stating that “the French judiciary prefers rapid criminal prosecution over the application of international law that protects child victims of human trafficking,” a policy that, according to the report, allows the real perpetrators to escape accountability.

One harrowing case cited in the report emerged from Marseille, where children were reportedly subjected to beatings and sexual violence if they failed to meet the "daily quota" set by their exploiters. Such acts of brutality continue amid what the report describes as "official French silence," raising serious questions about the state’s role—whether through complicity or willful neglect.

UNICEF urged the French government to prioritize the best interests of the child in all policies and judicial procedures. The organization called for the urgent adoption of legal frameworks that treat exploited minors as victims in need of protection, not punishment. Yet, despite positioning itself as a champion of human rights, France appears to maintain a selective approach—especially when it comes to the rights and welfare of children of Algerian descent.

In the words of the report: “France, which presents itself as a defender of human rights, continues to turn a blind eye to these violations, especially when it comes to children of Algerian origin.”

 “Thus, through this silence and negligence, Paris proves once again that its humanitarian slogans are applied only selectively, and that the lives of Algerian children are its last concern and their justice does not serve its political agendas,” the report concludes.

By Vafa Guliyeva