Trafficking in cultural goods: French customs make significant seizures

French customs have intensified their operations against trafficking in cultural goods in recent months, carrying out several high-value seizures, including Iranian goods estimated at more than 100,000 euros, it announced Friday in a press release.

Two fragments of monuments and bowls of Iranian origin where inscriptions in Arabic were forged, with a combined value estimated between 106,000 and 137,000 euros, some goods dating from the 12th century, were found at Lille during the control of an export of art objects to the United Kingdom.

Nearly 3,000 objects were seized during the operation in numerous cities in France including Lille, Amiens, Bayonne, Béziers and Sète, customs said. Objects from protohistory and the Bronze Age, such as swords and a knife, were notably found among the 402 archaeological objects seized in Bayonne, after customs officers carried out a home visit to an individual suspected of illegal searches.

Collectors and resellers alike were targeted by these operations, notably in an auction room in Béziers where “2,000 prehistoric archaeological objects, including stone tools, fossils, ceramic fragments and ancient coins” from Algeria were offered.

During this operation, 280 prehistoric and Gallo-Roman objects were seized, as well as 402 archaeological objects, nearly 2,000 Algerian archaeological pieces and around sixty fossils from Morocco. Where possible, seized property is returned to its country of origin, contributing to “the preservation of world heritage”. The Mongolian authorities thus recovered “a complete skeleton of Tarbosaurus bataar” in December, according to the press release.

In 2025, customs increased its findings in the cultural field, up 12%, intercepting a total of 25,070 items, including Charlemagne’s gold penny, handed over to the National Library of France.