Overview
- A France 2 Envoyé spécial investigation reports grooming and coercion inside ASE foyers and reiterates the parliamentary estimate of 20,000 minors in prostitution, about 80% under state care.
- In Marseille, local actors estimate 150 to 200 placed children are being sexually exploited, and a juvenile judge has been designated as a prostitution referent.
- A September case in Albi saw 18 clients of a 15-year-old receive fines of roughly €500 to €700, underscoring the difficulty of proving they knew her age despite heavy penalties on paper.
- Libération reports that court-ordered protection for abused children is frequently not implemented due to shortages of places and staff, leaving some minors with their aggressors.
- Parents in multiple departments, including Bouches-du-Rhône, are suing departmental councils responsible for ASE over alleged failures to protect placed children.