At least 77 migrants, including several children, have been found inside two trucks in separate incidents near Paris within the space of two days, highlighting the dangers faced by people attempting clandestine journeys across Europe.
The latest discovery occurred in the early hours of August 26, when authorities found at least 58 people locked inside a truck parked in a cul-de-sac in Paris’s 18th arrondissement.
Emergency services attended the scene after the migrants were discovered. Authorities did not immediately provide details about their medical condition.
The truck’s driver had not been located, and investigators were working to establish whether the driver knew that migrants were inside the vehicle.
The Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office said it had opened a criminal investigation into suspected assistance with the irregular entry, movement or stay of a foreign national in France as part of an organised criminal network.
The investigation is being conducted by the Paris branch of the Office for the Fight Against Illegal Migrant Trafficking, known as OLTIM.
Investigators are expected to determine whether the truck was being used to transport the migrants to a particular destination as part of a wider smuggling operation.
Police said several children were among the 58 people discovered in the vehicle.
Following the rescue, authorities determined that some of the migrants were in France without legal status and placed them in administrative detention. Others were able to provide documentation showing that they had legal status in France.
A total of 32 people were reportedly found to have valid legal status and were subsequently released.
The discovery came only hours after another group of migrants was found inside a refrigerated truck in Yvelines, southwest of Paris.
On August 25, 19 migrants were discovered inside the vehicle while it was travelling on a highway. The group reportedly included seven children, with passengers originating from Iran and Iraq.
According to local reports, the migrants had boarded the refrigerated truck without the driver’s knowledge, apparently intending to travel as stowaways.
One person inside the vehicle contacted emergency services after becoming concerned about the overcrowded and potentially dangerous conditions.
Refrigerated trucks pose particularly serious risks for clandestine passengers. Extremely low temperatures, limited ventilation and confined spaces can cause hypothermia, loss of consciousness and suffocation.
The dangers associated with travelling inside freight vehicles have been demonstrated by previous migrant deaths in Europe.
In 2019, 39 Vietnamese migrants were found dead inside a refrigerated truck near London after becoming trapped during an attempted clandestine journey to the United Kingdom.
The two recent discoveries around Paris have renewed attention on the use of commercial vehicles for irregular migration through France.
French authorities have recorded other cases involving migrants travelling inside trucks in recent years. In November, four Iraqi men were reportedly arrested after being found inside a refrigerated truck in Rouen, Normandy.
A month earlier, 11 Eritrean migrants were discovered inside another refrigerated vehicle in northern France.
Last summer, 15 migrants were found suffering from hypothermia at a rest stop in Calais, a major transit point for people attempting to reach the United Kingdom through irregular routes.
The incidents underline the extreme risks associated with clandestine travel in freight vehicles, particularly when migrants are transported without adequate ventilation, heating or access to emergency assistance.
They also highlight the role of organised smuggling networks and the increasingly dangerous methods some migrants use in attempts to cross borders and reach their intended destinations.
French authorities are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the two latest truck discoveries, including whether organised trafficking networks were involved and whether the drivers were aware of the migrants hidden inside the vehicles.