Arrest at Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle airport: criminal defence before the Bobigny court

Under the table of courts annexed to the Code of Judicial Organisation, the Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle airport site (emprise de l'aérodrome) falls within the area of the Bobigny judicial court (tribunal judiciaire de Bobigny), through its local chamber at Aulnay-sous-Bois. The same table expressly excludes the airport site from the areas of the neighbouring courts of Pontoise (Val-d'Oise) and Meaux (Seine-et-Marne). This arrangement stems from a decree of 11 May 1989, still in force, which extended the territorial jurisdiction of the Bobigny courts to the airport site.

In criminal matters, the competent criminal court (tribunal correctionnel) is that of the place of the offence, of the defendant's residence or of the place of arrest or detention (art. 382 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). For an offence committed on the airport site, the place of the offence therefore lies within the Bobigny court's area, and the Bobigny public prosecutor (procureur de la République) is among the competent prosecutors as prosecutor of the place of the offence (art. 43).

The Bobigny judicial court is located at 173 avenue Paul Vaillant-Couturier, 93008 Bobigny Cedex (telephone: +33 1 48 95 13 93). It is open to the public Monday to Friday, from 8.30 am to 5.30 pm, and can be reached by tram T1 or bus 134, stop Bobigny Pablo Picasso. It falls within the area of the Paris Court of Appeal.

At the airport, the border police (police aux frontières) operate through the Direction de la police aux frontières des aérodromes parisiens, whose area covers Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle, Paris-Le Bourget and Paris-Orly. It carries out border control and, on the airport sites, the judicial police duties conferred on it by the Code of Criminal Procedure. Customs (douane) are present through the Direction interrégionale des douanes de Paris-Aéroports, based at Charles-de-Gaulle, whose tasks include the fight against illicit trafficking. Customs officers may check travellers and their luggage. Where there are serious grounds to suspect that a person is carrying drugs concealed inside the body, they may subject the person to medical screening tests, but only with their express written consent; if the person refuses, they must seek authorisation from the president of the competent judicial court or a judge delegated by them (art. L. 422-17 and L. 422-18 of the Customs Code).

Customs detention (retenue douanière) may only be ordered for a flagrant offence under the Customs Code punishable by imprisonment, where the needs of the customs investigation justify it (art. L. 432-1). It lasts no more than 24 hours, once extendable by up to 24 hours on the public prosecutor's written and reasoned authorisation (art. L. 432-2). The person may be examined by a doctor, be assisted by a lawyer and have a relative and, for a foreign national, the consular authorities of their country contacted (art. L. 432-5). If the person is then placed in police custody, the time already spent in customs detention is deducted from the custody period (art. L. 432-11). Since 1 May 2026, these rules appear in the recodified Customs Code; older documents may still refer to the former articles 323-1 and following.

Police custody (garde à vue) lasts 24 hours, once extendable by 24 hours on the prosecutor's written authorisation, for offences punishable by at least one year of imprisonment (art. 63 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). For drug trafficking offences (articles 222-34 to 222-40 of the Criminal Code), two further extensions of 24 hours each may exceptionally be authorised by the liberty and custody judge (juge des libertés et de la détention) or the investigating judge, bringing the maximum to 96 hours (art. 706-73 and 706-88). From the start of custody, the person may ask to be assisted by a lawyer of their choice or a duty lawyer (art. 63-3-1), with a confidential interview of up to thirty minutes (art. 63-4).

At the end of custody, the person may be brought before the public prosecutor: this is the deferral (déferrement). The lawyer may consult the file immediately and communicate freely with the person (art. 393 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). The prosecutor may then decide on an immediate appearance (comparution immédiate) before the criminal court, possible where the offence is punishable by at least two years of imprisonment, or six months for an offence caught in the act (art. 395).

The defendant can be tried the same day only with their consent, which can only be given in the presence of their lawyer (art. 397). If the defendant does not consent, or if the case is not ready to be tried, the court adjourns it to a hearing held no less than four weeks later, unless the defendant expressly waives this minimum, and no more than ten weeks later (art. 397-1). If the court cannot sit the same day, the prosecutor may bring the defendant before the liberty and custody judge; if that judge orders pre-trial detention, the defendant must appear before the court no later than the third working day following, failing which they are released automatically (art. 396).

The prosecutor may instead request the opening of a judicial investigation (information judiciaire), entrusted to an investigating judge (juge d'instruction). A judicial investigation is compulsory for crimes (the category of offences above délits) and optional for délits, save for special provisions (art. 79).

A person who does not understand French is informed of their rights in a language they understand and, where necessary, may be assisted by an interpreter (art. 63-1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure; art. L. 432-7 of the Customs Code for customs detention). This right continues until the end of the proceedings, including for discussions with the lawyer directly linked to an interview or hearing, together with the translation of the documents essential to the defence, unless the person expressly waives it (preliminary article, III).

A foreign national in police custody may have the consular authorities of their country contacted (art. 63-2). The person may also have a relative informed by telephone, in principle within three hours of the request (art. 63-2). The relative who has been informed may choose a lawyer, but the person in custody must confirm that choice (art. 63-3-1).

The firm can be reached by the person's family, including from abroad, on +33 1 87 66 00 48, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. It intervenes throughout Île-de-France:

• assistance in police custody or customs detention, including on the airport site;
• deferral and immediate appearance hearings at the Bobigny court;
• hearings before the liberty and custody judge and applications for release;
• follow-up of judicial investigations and hearings before the criminal court.

Consultations and the defence can be conducted in English. Fees are set out in a written agreement with the client.