Overview
- Marseille’s criminal court convicted 14 former managers and staff for aggravated pimping and issued suspended prison sentences ranging from 12 to 30 months.
- The court opted for lighter punishment than the prosecutor’s request for time behind bars for several defendants.
- Testimony from former hostesses and clients, along with explicit audio recordings, described a system where sex acts were linked to bottle purchases in back rooms.
- Prosecutors said some women were vulnerable and barely of legal age, while defendants claimed the venues sold company rather than sex.
- The case grew from a 2015 police sweep that shut ten Opéra/Vieux-Port bars, with investigators counting 52 potential victims though none joined as civil parties.