What prospects do children have if they’ve grown up in a criminal environment? Pickpocketing is part of everyday life in the Paris Metro. Police say it’s often committed by Romanian children, working mostly for their own parents.
Pickpocketing is part of everyday life in the Paris Metro. Repeat offenders are investigated by police. During questioning, it becomes clear that the young thieves must hand over what they steal to their parents, who live illegally on the outskirts of Paris. The money then gets sent to Romania. The children are being used, forced to steal so that their parents can pay off debts of honor to gang leaders. It goes without saying that the children are not able to attend school.
The filmmakers were given exclusive access during shooting, allowing them to closely observe police and judicial officials during their investigations. Behind the pickpockets, an entire criminal organization was revealed. The children go out in groups of three or four, spying on potential victims before skillfully stealing their bags, wallets or cell phones and running away. In one day, a single pickpocket can make off with up to 800 euros. The entire proceeds have to be given to their parents, who use threats to keep their children stealing.
These children are merely the first link in the chain. Investigators were able to trace the money all the way to Romania, where it reappears in very specific places. The criminal business is organized by gangs all over Europe. From Paris, children can be sent to Madrid or Brussels, depending on where the situation is most favorable.
Above all, this documentary asks what future prospects children can have in such a criminal environment. Do they have any chance of escaping a grim fate? Most of those who were separated from their families and placed in state care were eventually returned to their parents.
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