Moroccan workers exploited in the Bordeaux region

Of the 28 victims from Morocco, around 20 were present at the hearing. The accused allegedly promised them full-time employment contracts, accommodation or transportation. But in the end, they allegedly received part-time, poorly paid contracts and had to pay their employers several thousand euros to obtain unhealthy housing in Aiguillon and Damazan in Lot-et-Garonne.

To read: Moroccans exploited in Tarn-et-Garonne

The case came to light in June 2023, following an unannounced inspection by agents from the Departmental Directorate for Employment, Labour and Solidarity (DDETS) at a farm in Gers. On site, the agents found two Moroccan seasonal workers without authorization to work, employed by a Gironde-based company later reported by several migrant assistance organizations.

After a year-long investigation conducted under the supervision of the first criminal chamber of the Bordeaux Judicial Court, the trial opened Tuesday. In the defendants’ box, Amal, a woman in her forties from Bordeaux, and her husband Chadid, a 37-year-old Moroccan, drew attention. The couple, who promoted an agricultural services company that began operations in 2022, were placed in pretrial detention at the end of last year, reports Sud Ouest.

To read: Moroccans exploited in France

The four other defendants are Ismail, 28, Amal’s brother, and Bilal, Najim and Nazih, Chadid’s brothers. They are prosecuted for complicity in human trafficking for allegedly threatening seasonal workers “with a knife or a baseball bat.” The latter denied the allegations. The six defendants reject the accusations against them and claim to be victims of a conspiracy. “We started in 2022, and everything was going very well. From the arrival of one seasonal worker onward, everything went downhill,” Amal told the court.

According to this psychiatric nursing assistant, that seasonal worker, along with the president of the association that reported the case to the DDETS, whose brother-in-law he allegedly is, were behind this scheme aimed at enabling the complainants to regularize their status in France. The hearing continues Wednesday.