“it’s a system that will crush them”

One year after the signing of an agreement between the Metz Court of Appeal and the Moselle Departmental Council, a monitoring committee reveals that 34 sexually exploited minors have been identified in Moselle. The situation has become worrying.

The case had raised a lot of indignation at the end of November 2024, in Grenoble, a man was suspected of having prostituted a teenage girl, Lilou aged 16. She disappeared at the end of October in Metz for almost a week.

Prostitution of minors has become a real scourge in France. A little over a year ago, in December 2023, the Moselle departmental council and the Metz court of appeal signed an agreement to better coordinate the fight against minor prostitution. In a press release, the Metz Court of Appeal specifies that“a rise in the prostitution phenomenon has been observed in Moselle for several years”.

All without exception have experienced domestic violence and/or sexual assault.

Since then, it is through extensive field work that investigators have identified more than thirty in 2024. “Minors in prostitution. Since the beginning of January this year, we have even spotted new victims. They are mainly teenage girls aged 13 to 17. Last year, among the 34, there were There are seven who are barely 14 years old. There are two boys.explains François Pérain, general prosecutor of the Metz Court of Appeal.

In prostitution, for several years, young underage teenage girls have often been on the front line. They come from different social backgrounds. “We noticed that very often, they were in denial because they lacked awareness. They did not realize what they were doing, and sometimes they did not even participate in the investigation.” And the reasons are often known. Surveys show it. Poverty, wars, family problems… According to the court of appeal “all without exception have experienced domestic violence and/or sexual assault and the majority have previous relationship problems with one of the two parents.”

But the main aggravating factor remains the development of the Internet and mobile phones. “It’s a system that will crush them. There is always a pimp behind the acts of prostitution,” said François Pérain.

Thus, in this steering committee, we find magistrates in charge of minors, professionals from child welfare (ASE), the cell for collecting worrying information from the Department (CRIP), the association Nid movement and representatives of the Regional Health Agency (ARS).

Investigators also do a lot of wiretaps.

François Pérain, attorney general

The police and gendarmerie also joined this committee. “We can speak of a success because we identified a phenomenon using an innovative process. These are difficult investigations because very often they interfere with social networks and the internet. Which is used by pimps. The investigators also do a lot telephone tapping”, specifies François Pérain. The families of the victims are destitute despite public authorities and social services. “Then it takes a long time to place them.”

Thus, in 2025, the court of appeal wishes to emphasize “information and prevention campaigns in all places frequented by adolescents. And in the longer term, to suggest to investigators “interview footage of minor victims of sexual exploitation and to offer adolescents in prostitution a privileged contact person who can be reached 24 hours a day”, indicates the press release.

The agreement provides for the establishment of a quarterly monitoring committee to examine the situation of each minor concerned. Thursday January 16, at the end of the meeting, an amendment was signed. He plans to “broaden the scope of intervention to young girls and young men up to the age of 21 so as not to interrupt follow-up when they come of age.”

In France, around 10,000 minors are victims of prostitution, according to the Juvenile Victimology Center.