France: data on forgeries

According to data collected by the monthly, BienVu, from the French Finance Ministry, at October 31, 2003, impounded forged eyewear represented 2.1% of the total value of goods seized in France.

By end October, 38,393 pairs of glasses with fake labels (Ray-Ban, Oakley, Police, Hugo Boss, Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger) were intercepted by French customs in 13 operations. The majority of the confiscations took place at Charles de Gaulle airport at Roissy. The eyewear, all of Asian manufacture, had come from the United Arab Emirates are were headed for Egypt and the Ivory Coast.

It is well known that the phenomenon is on the increase all over Europe, with 50 millions-worth of counterfeit goods seized in the first six months of 2003, compared to 85 million for the whole of 2002.