Bayonne pizzeria manager condemned for employing undocumented workers
The Bayonne court has leniently condemned the manager of a pizzeria who illegally employed seven foreign workers. A decision to preserve the business.
Judicial leniency for employing undocumented workers
The manager of the Bayonne pizzeria was condemned on Tuesday 10 November by the Bayonne judicial court for employing foreigners without work authorisation. According to ici.fr, the 52-year-old owner hired seven Algerian, Moroccan and Tunisian employees in irregular situations between July 2021 and October 2024. She pleaded good faith and the absence of fraudulent intent.
The investigation began following suspicions of fraud reported by the prefecture of Pyrénées-Atlantiques. Officers from the Office to Combat Illegal Migrant Trafficking (OLTIM) then discovered a succession of hirings without proper verification. Among the employees, one had a false Italian identity card, another was a minor, and a third could not legally be in France. All belonged to the family of the manager's ex-husband.
The tribunal president reminded the defendant that "trust does not prevent verification". The public prosecutor, Caroline Parizel, noted "a clear failure" whilst distinguishing the personal responsibility of the manager from that of her company in its capacity as a legal entity. The damages to URSSAF amount to 86,000 euros.
The defence stressed the "absence of intent to defraud" and the difficult context of seeking labour. The lawyer Me Sophie Burosse-Gourgue emphasised that her client had employed 270 people without problem since 2009. The court found only six of the seven cases proven and condemned the manager to 2,500 euros in fines with a suspended sentence. The SARL received 10,000 euros in fines, also with a suspended sentence. The seized sums will be returned, allowing the business to continue its operations.
Source: Google News FR — Crime (fr)