Illicit cigarette trade
In the first part of the study, it had been highlighted that the sectors where we meet the phenomenon of sale of tobacco on the life are known areas to house a set of illicit commercial activities, but also law.Given the population density, cities constitute privileged places for trade.
The districts concerned by the illicit tobacco trade and in which we have done a field work are places of passage and exchange which are carried by a strong commercial activity, whether it is legal or illegal.These daily market exchanges participate in the life of these neighborhoods, which are also marked by a significant occupation of the public domain by human presence.It should also be noted that in Barbès (Paris)))), in the eighty (Aubervilliers)))), in Guillotière (Lyon)))) or at the Porte d'Aix (Marseille)))), traditional traders coexist with street sellers and street sellers andthis for several years.
All these sectors have in common being cosmopolitan and swarming.It should also be noted that these places host a primary population, looking for economic activities likely to ensure its subsistence.
Street traffic is therefore developed more regularly in neighborhoods where pedestrian flows are important, because they are, in particular, places of passage for transit travelers.If cigarette traffic has developed in these neighborhoods, it is also largely because the population density contributes to offering many commercial opportunities and allows sellers to blend into a mass of people, thiswhich makes them less vulnerable to police interventions.
The method followed
Our study is based on different qualitative sources and has been conducted in various information collection methods.Interviews were first organized with a series of institutional actors, local elected officials for security or elected officials of neighborhoods concerned by the problem of illicit tobacco, representatives of customs and police services.We have also requested authors and journalists who worked on the theme of illicit tobacco trade or who mentioned the subject during work on the lawful and illicit economy in urban areas.Other interviews have been organized with associative officials involved in the districts concerned or in contact with young isolated minors who could indulge in tobacco trafficking.We have also initiated analytical work from press documents mentioning the illicit cigarette trade.
For information from buyers, we have decided to launch an online survey on social networks.This approach allowed us to obtain qualitative data on consumption habits and on the motivations of these smokers or former smokers with different profiles (age, city of residence, etc..)))).Our investigations were deepened during individual interviews with some of these buyers.
To understand the profiles of sellers, their sales practices and to succeed in identifying the workings of these organizations, we have met several approaches.The first step was to go and attend hearings as part of the street vendors and traffickers were prosecuted and where tobacco manufacturers had set up civil party.We then studied judicial archive files relating to cigarette traffic cases, which led us to obtain information on networks logics and methods of supplying these networks.To complete these first investigations, we made observations in the field to study the profile of the sellers, and try to gain their confidence so that they grant us individual interviews.This approach worked with a few sellers who agreed to answer our questions in all.Nevertheless, the unlawful nature of this activity and the proximity to other types of trafficking sellers to show extreme mistrust that it is sometimes difficult to overcome.
The seller, a vulnerable link and little connected to the illegal tobacco supply chain
Profiles of people who participate in the illicit tobacco trade can differ depending on the sales method (Internet, Rescue, Network of Relatives, Grocery, etc..)))).Nevertheless, our study allowed us to understand characteristics common to all categories of sellers:
- They are generally in a precarious economic situation and the benefit they derive from the sale of tobacco constitutes either an additional income, or their only income; - they are unemployed or have little remunerative jobs; - they are mainly smokers.
Les dossiers judiciaires consultés le démontrent très clairement, puisque l’on retrouve parmi les « petits » acteurs de trafics (transporteurs et revendeurs)))) tantôt des personnes en situation précaire (chômeurs, bénéficiaires des minimas sociaux, étudiants, intérimaires)))), tantôt des représentants de professions peu qualifiées (chauffeurs-livreurs, taxis, employés de restaurants)))) avec parfois des antécédents d’interdiction bancaire et de surendettement.
Regarding more specifically rescue sellers, we were able to make the following findings:
- Sellers are immigrants or immigration and a large part of them are in an irregular situation or awaiting regularization.Sellers are often young illegal immigrants who arrived in France with the dream of a better life and then quickly confronted a vital emergency situation, forcing them to find money quickly.None of the young people met intended to take part in the illicit tobacco trade before arriving in France; - the sellers are mostly between 16 and 30 years old; - the sellers remain in groups to deceive boredom, to be less vulnerableand to be able to avoid massive arrests by the police or by the customs services. Bien qu’ils se disent tous indépendants, ils veillent néanmoins les uns sur les autres et développent des formes de solidarité de groupe, ce qui se traduit en pratique par des systèmes d’alerte entre vendeurs à l’arrivée des forces de l’ordre ;– les vendeurs ont pour la plupart déjà eu affaire à la justice et ont déjà fait l’objet d’une condamnation (pas forcément en lien avec la vente de tabac à la sauvette)))) ;– aucun ou quasiment aucun ne vit à proximité immédiate du point de vente ;– la proximité du trafic de cigarettes avec d’autres trafics comme le trafic de stupéfiants combinée avec l’ennui auquel doivent faire face les vendeurs conduit certains d’entre eux à consommer de la drogue et à développer des comportements addictifs.
À l’exception des vendeurs de gros ou de semi-gros, la majorité d’entre eux indiquent que les bénéfices sont relativement faibles par rapport aux efforts engagés (présence de longue durée dans la rue)))) et aux risques encourus.On average, the sellers encountered between 20 and 50 packages per day, for a profit around 15 euros for a smuggling cartridge.The cartridge is purchased at 35 euros then sold at 50 euros. Il est possible d’affirmer que le coût de fabrication d’une cartouche de contrefaçon est de 8 euros en moyenne1.For many of these sellers, a day of sale can be qualified as "good" when they sell 50 or more packages.In the absence of available data and access to the interested parties, it is however impossible in the context of this study to establish precisely the margin of the different intermediate levels (manufacturer, distributor, wholesaler)))). Le vendeur est le dernier maillon de la chaîne de commerce illicite de tabac, qui représentait 30,13% de la consommation de cigarettes en France selon une étude de la Seita2.This activity is indeed confined to the simple "distribution", which requires only few skills, except for commercial skills insofar as the distribution activity is limited to the exchange of a sum ofmoney against a product with a customer who is not a priori to convince.We will come back to this later, but the seller does not rely on any commercial discourse concerning the product of which he ultimately knows little.What gives the attractiveness of its product is first of all its price.Regarding the rescue sale, its influence on the sales strategy is also very limited since this same seller remains static and can only be content to challenge passers -by by offering them his merchandise. Cette stratégie est facilitée par le fait que la demande est forte (densité humaine, flux de passants)))), que la transaction est très rapide (pas de vérification nécessaire de la qualité du produit par l’acheteur)))) et que le risque pris par le vendeur à entreprendre la vente illicite est faible, du fait de la capacité d’action limitée de la part des pouvoirs publics3.
If the seller generally has no role in the production and in the routing of the goods, he must nevertheless find a mode of supply which may vary depending on whether it is attached to a network or not to a network.
Finally, it should be noted that the sale of rescue cigarettes is an exclusively male activity.During our study, we did not see any woman selling tobacco in the street.This phenomenon is explained above all by the fact that this activity involves risks for the seller's physical security, due to the strong competition which can reign in certain areas and that women, being minority in the field, would be more vulnerable. En outre, si les mineurs non accompagnés (MNA)))) peuvent être la proie de réseaux de trafiquants du fait de leur vulnérabilité et du moindre risque pénal qu’ils encourent, ils ne sont néanmoins pas particulièrement présents dans la population des vendeurs.
