Three convicted in France for human trafficking during champagne grape harvest

Monday 21 July 2025 - 14:00

Three individuals were sentenced in France on Monday for human trafficking and exploiting dozens of migrant workers under inhumane conditions during the 2023 grape harvest in the renowned Champagne wine region.

The main defendant, a woman of Kyrgyz origin and head of a vineyard labor contracting company, was convicted by the Châlons-en-Champagne court in northeastern France. She received a four-year sentence, two of which are to be served in prison. She was also found guilty of undeclared work, employing foreigners without authorization, and offering them little or no pay.

During her trial on June 19, she denied responsibility for the appalling living conditions of the workers, instead blaming the two other co-defendants.

The two men, both in their 30s, were found guilty of recruiting the grape pickers in the Paris region. Each was sentenced to one year in prison, with additional suspended sentences of one and two years, respectively.

The court followed most of the recommendations made by the prosecution. It also ordered the dissolution of the labor contracting company and fined a Champagne cooperative €75,000 for its involvement.

Investigations revealed that 57 workers, primarily undocumented migrants from Mali, Mauritania, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal, were forced to live in degrading and unsafe environments. They were housed in an abandoned building and a storage hangar, sleeping on air mattresses on bare floors, with makeshift showers, broken toilets, and hazardous electrical installations.

A September 2023 inspection by labor authorities found that the accommodations posed serious threats to the workers’ safety, health, and dignity. The facilities were subsequently shut down by local officials.

One of the workers, Modibo Sidibe, testified to AFP: “They put us in an abandoned building, no food, no water, nothing. Then they send us to pick grapes from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m.” Another victim, Camara Sikou, told the court they were treated “like slaves.”