Moroccan farmworkers paid up to €12,000 for French jobs, then worked 88-hour weeks
Fifteen Moroccans thought they had found well-paid jobs in French orchards. They now allege they paid up to €12,000 for contracts, worked endless hours and had their passports confiscated. Four people faced the accusations before the Nîmes court.
“I had to pay to work.” Before the judges on Tuesday, October 6, Abderrahim B. said he had handed €12,000 in cash to a Moroccan recruiter to secure a farm job in France. He had been promised €2,500 a month. His earnings allegedly never reached that amount.
On Bladi.net : France: Moroccan Workers Paid 10,000 Euros to Work
His testimony echoes that of fourteen other seasonal workers employed between 2022 and 2025 at two farms in Saint-Gilles, in the Gard. According to TV5 Monde, they were recruited by Hamid B., himself a farmworker, and his wife, who handled the administrative procedures.
Once in France, the workers were allegedly deprived of their identity papers. They had to pay the couple €150 a month for accommodation, despite staying in rooms without hot water or enough furniture. Some slept directly on the floor. Their wages did not match the hours they worked, and, according to the complainants, those who wanted to return the following season had to pay again.
Up to 88 hours of work, with no days off
In the orchards, workdays could last thirteen hours. The Confédération paysanne, a civil party in the case, reported weeks reaching 88 hours, with no weekly day off, as well as pesticide treatments carried out without protective gear. A video shown at the hearing depicts workers laboring at night during a thunderstorm, without suitable equipment.
The labor inspector who raised the alarm described a real market in agricultural work contracts, sold to Moroccan applicants for between €8,000 and €15,000. Comparable sums had already been alleged in another case involving Moroccan workers in Tarbes.
At the hearing, Hamid B. denied all the allegations, presenting himself as a simple worker. When confronted with videos showing seasonal workers digging his swimming pool during their weekend, he claimed they had done it to promote themselves. A farm operator also denied knowing about the payments demanded or the accommodation conditions.
Prosecutor Nathalie Welte said the charges of human trafficking were established against three of the four defendants. She sought suspended prison sentences of between twelve and eighteen months and fines of €50,000 to €150,000. For the fourth defendant, she requested a €1,000 fine.
The fifteen Moroccan workers, all present at the hearing as civil parties, are now awaiting the court’s decision, which has been reserved.
