Like the senators, the deputies unanimously adopted on Wednesday June 21 at first reading a government project to reform the powers and means of customs, made essential by a warning shot from the Constitutional Council.
A decision of the wise, on September 22, had dealt a blow to the power of inspection of customs officers, considering that the article governing it was too laconic and contrary to the Constitution. The Constitutional Council had left until September 1, 2023 to find a more solid formulation. The government bill must now be agreed between deputies and senators, with a view to final adoption around July 5.
“I am very happy to see that the national representation was able to come together in the service of those who get up every morning to protect the French, to protect the borders”, greeted the Minister of Public Accounts, Gabriel Attal. Among the opposition, left-wing groups abstained, lamenting that more troops were not planned. The Republican (LR) deputies voted for the text, welcoming measures giving “more agility” to customs. The National Rally (RN) also voted for, while criticizing a “judicialization of customs action”.
The text enshrines the full right to search goods and people in the border area, and in the “customs radius” (an area of 40 kilometers inside the territory). Customs officers will retain the same powers in ports, airports and stations that have services abroad, and in the “surroundings of these places”.
Elsewhere, the search will have to be “motivated”. Customs will have to inform the public prosecutor in advance, who may object, or have “reasonable grounds” to suspect an offense or an “attempted” offense.
Links between customs officers and border police
The text also provides for the creation of an “operational reserve”, a body composed of retired customs officers and volunteers intended to support customs officers, but which worries the left, who sees it as an excuse not to increase the number.
It also extends the powers of customs officers in the use of surveillance images and sounds picked up by microphones, as well as in the use of data generated by automatic license plate readers, despite the reluctance of opposition on potential privacy breaches.
The bill toughens the penalties for tobacco trafficking: it increases the prison sentence from one to three years and creates a ban on territory of up to ten years for any foreigner committing this offense. Still against tobacco trafficking, but also to monitor the “irregular crossing” of borders, the government provides for the possibility of using drones.
More broadly, the text strengthens the link between customs officers and border police forces, with the left accusing the government of wanting to create a hybrid “customs-PAF” corps, intended to fight against migration, and going beyond traditional control missions. customs goods.