DA beautiful linen on the benches of the La Rochelle judicial court, Thursday November 7. Louis Vuitton, Guerlain, Christian Dior, Givenchy, Kenzo, to name only the luxury groups represented by their lawyers as civil parties. Prada, Lacoste, Balenciaga, Rolex, Cartier and other Nikes, also victims, did not make the trip to the hearing, where two street sellers, aged 32 and 21, with a record already provided, were judged.
Their entire catalog (clothing, shoes, watches, handbags, cosmetic products) was available on the social network Snapchat, before distribution in private sales in apartments rented on Airbnb or “at the bottom of the truck”, from L'Houmeau to Rochefort passing through Aytré. Difficult to remain discreet. Their activities had been closely monitored by the gendarmes for almost a year when, on March 2, 2023, one of them was arrested by the La Rochelle police officers, the car filled with counterfeit objects. The searches confirmed the work of the investigators and even revealed the existence of hidden work.
More than 15,000 euros in one month
During the hearing, the oldest of the duo explains that they have built up savings. “I call it money laundering,” retorts President Gérald Faucou. Sophie Dubas, for the public prosecutor, underlines the comfortable lifestyle ensured by the sale of counterfeits. As proof, renting a boat all year round. The lawyers for the civil parties claim the damage caused by these illicit but nevertheless remunerative activities: up to more than 15,000 euros in one month.
“Louis Vuitton is the most counterfeited brand in the world,” says Me Lorena Raulot, assuring that the LVMH group “is not there to enrich itself, but to repair damage”. The world leader in luxury, owned by Bernard Arnault, one of the richest people on the planet, is in fact not a symbolic euro away. But he demands compensation, commensurate with the “loss of earnings” and the “devaluation of the brand” that the scourge of counterfeiting generates.
LVMH records
“In Clignancourt, they are everywhere! “, proclaims Margaux Canon, student lawyer, evoking “a certain tolerance” towards the bearers of counterfeit brands, who are “not those who buy on the Champs-Élysées”. Me Quentin Loisel mentions LVMH's record profits in 2023, 16.3 billion euros. “It’s certain, these companies are not doing well…”
Should we inform Urssaf and the State that people are working illegally? We must warn all drug traffickers in La Rochelle in this case
The lawyer also laughs at accusations of hidden work. “Should we inform Urssaf and the State that people are working illegally? We must warn all drug traffickers in La Rochelle in this case. » Finally, Me Loisel notes that, in the context of a criminal case, LVMH opts for the financial transaction, even if it means paying ten million euros in a public interest fine and avoiding prison for those responsible.
The two defendants are not immune: one receives eight months and a 10,000 euro fine, his younger brother, already imprisoned in Niort and targeted by an investigation for a fatal brawl, three months. Everyone will have to pay a thousand euros to the civil parties for moral damage. Also prosecuted, a single mother who had agreed to keep the money from one of the sellers in her account (40,000 euros), without worrying about its origin, was sentenced to four months in prison.
