Overview
- Prosecutors opened the criminal trial on Monday, June 22, 2026, charging founder Georges Dahan and about 17 others with organized possession, production and sale of counterfeit goods, money laundering and extortion.
- Authorities seized more than 200,000 suspected counterfeit items in a February operation, with customs estimating the haul at about €42 million and publicly destroying large quantities with a shredding truck.
- Investigators say they found on-site production equipment, including about 15 sewing machines, four heat-press machines and an Hermès dry stamp, and allege some municipal police officers and a prefectural official took bribes or warned traders about planned controls.
- Luxury houses such as Dior, Hermès and Givenchy have joined as civil parties seeking heavy damages that lawyers estimate at over €50 million, while defendants face prison terms of up to around ten years and possible confiscation or permanent closure of the premises.
- The market remains closed under a six-month administrative order that has hit legitimate vendors and local commerce, and the case follows national data showing tens of millions of counterfeit items seized in recent years, positioning the trial as a test of tougher anti-counterfeiting enforcement.