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Charles Bruguière - Attorney at Law
FR

English-speaking criminal defence

Drug Offences Lawyer in Paris

Use, possession, sale, trafficking, drug driving: the firm defends suspects at every stage, from garde à vue (police custody) to trial, in English, throughout Paris and the Île-de-France region.

Call now +33 1 87 66 00 48

What counts as a drug offence under French law?

French law draws no line between soft and hard drugs: any substance classified as a narcotic, cannabis included, triggers the same set of offences. The scale runs from simple use, punished by one year of imprisonment and a 3,750 euro fine (article L3421-1 of the Public Health Code), to possession, transport and purchase, punished by ten years and a 7,500,000 euro fine (article 222-37 of the Penal Code), sale to a consumer, punished by five years (article 222-39), import and export, punished by ten years and by thirty years when committed by an organised gang (article 222-36), up to directing a trafficking network, which carries life imprisonment (article 222-34).

The same facts can therefore be charged in very different ways, and the qualification chosen by the prosecutor largely determines the outcome. Between a 500 euro fixed fine for use and ten years for possession, everything depends on quantities, packaging, cash, telephone content and the regularity of the police work: the stop, the search, the seizure and the exploitation of the phone. Those are the points the firm examines first in every file.

What do you risk for simple use or a small quantity?

For use alone, prosecution before a court has become the exception in Paris: the standard response is the amende forfaitaire délictuelle, a fixed criminal fine which the law of 18 August 2026 raised to 500 euros. Paying it extinguishes the prosecution, but it is not neutral: payment is treated as an admission, and the fine is entered on bulletin n°2 of the criminal record, from which it is only removed three years after payment. For a foreign resident whose visa, residence permit or employment depends on a clean record, that inscription can weigh far more than the amount.

A small quantity also does not guarantee that the case stays a simple use case. Investigators routinely consider charging possession under article 222-37, which carries ten years, when the conditioning or the context suggests resale. Before paying anything or signing anything, a short conversation with a lawyer lets you understand what is actually being alleged and what the realistic outcomes are.

How long can garde à vue last in a drug case?

Ordinary police custody lasts 24 hours, extendable once to 48 hours. Drug trafficking, however, falls under the organised-crime regime: two further 24-hour extensions can be ordered by the liberty and custody judge or the investigating judge, bringing the maximum to 96 hours (article 706-88 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). Since the law of 13 June 2025, custody can even reach 120 hours when the presence of narcotics inside the body is medically established (article 706-88-2), a rule aimed at body-packing cases, which the Paris region sees regularly through its airports.

For an English speaker, two rights matter immediately: your rights must be notified in a language you understand, with an interpreter where necessary (article 63-1), and if you are a foreign national you can have your consular authorities informed (article 63-2). The firm assists clients in custody directly in English, from the confidential interview onwards. What to do in the first hour, and how a relative can appoint the firm from a distance, is set out on the police custody lawyer page.

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What happens after custody: immediate trial or investigation?

In Paris, Bobigny or Créteil, possession and street-dealing files are very often sent straight to comparution immédiate (immediate trial) when custody ends: you can be judged the same day, sometimes within the hour, in a courtroom at the tribunal judiciaire at Porte de Clichy. The defence then faces a strategic choice the firm prepares during custody itself: accept an immediate hearing, or ask for an adjournment to build the file, knowing the court will rule on detention in the meantime.

Larger files, typically import cases and network investigations, are instead referred to a juge d'instruction (investigating judge) in a judicial investigation that can last months, frequently with pretrial detention at stake. In some use or possession cases, the prosecutor may propose a CRPC, the French guilty plea procedure. Each path calls for a different defence, and the orientation decision itself can sometimes be influenced while custody is still running.

Drug driving: what are the penalties in 2026?

Driving after using narcotics is a separate offence, established by a blood or saliva test: three years of imprisonment and a 9,000 euro fine (article L235-1 of the Road Traffic Code), raised to five years and 15,000 euros when the driver is also over the alcohol limit, with the loss of six licence points and possible suspension or cancellation of the licence. Refusing to undergo the checks is itself an offence, punished since the law of 18 August 2026 by three years of imprisonment and a 9,000 euro fine (article L235-3).

These cases move fast: the licence is usually withheld on the spot, and the court hearing follows within weeks. The technical side, namely the conditions of the test and the reliability of the procedure, is often where the defence is played out. The licence procedure and the other road offences are covered on the page driving offences lawyer in Paris.

Drug offences: penalties in force in 2026

Simple use

One year of imprisonment and a 3,750 euro fine (art. L3421-1 of the Public Health Code). A 500 euro fixed criminal fine is possible and is recorded on the criminal record.

Possession, transport, purchase

Ten years of imprisonment and a 7,500,000 euro fine (art. 222-37 of the Penal Code), whatever the quantity in strict law.

Sale or offer

Five years of imprisonment and a 75,000 euro fine when the sale is for the buyer's personal use (art. 222-39), ten years when it targets minors or takes place in education establishments.

Import, export

Ten years of imprisonment and a 7,500,000 euro fine (art. 222-36); thirty years of criminal imprisonment when committed by an organised gang.

Leading a network

Directing or organising a drug trafficking group is punished by life imprisonment and a 7,500,000 euro fine (art. 222-34 of the Penal Code).

Money laundering

Five years of imprisonment and a 375,000 euro fine (art. 324-1 of the Penal Code). The financial side of trafficking files is prosecuted in its own right.

Frequently asked questions - drug offences in Paris

French law treats the simple use of any narcotic as an offence punishable by one year of imprisonment and a 3,750 euro fine (article L3421-1 of the Public Health Code). In practice, for a small quantity and no other charge, prosecutors very often propose a fixed criminal fine, raised to 500 euros by the law of 18 August 2026. Nothing obliges you to decide alone: talk to a lawyer before paying or contesting, because each path has lasting consequences.

Paying ends the prosecution, but it is treated as an admission of the offence and it is recorded: since the law of 18 August 2026, a paid fixed criminal fine appears on bulletin n°2 of the criminal record and is only removed three years after payment. For a professional who needs a clean record, or a foreign national with residence or visa concerns, that trace can matter more than the amount. The firm advises before any payment.

Drug trafficking falls under the organised-crime regime: garde à vue (police custody) can be extended up to 96 hours, against 48 hours in ordinary cases (article 706-88 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). Since the law of 13 June 2025, it can reach 120 hours when the presence of drugs inside the body is medically established (article 706-88-2). A lawyer can assist you from the first hour and at every extension.

Your rights must be notified to you in a language you understand, and you are entitled to the assistance of an interpreter throughout the measure (article 63-1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). If you are a foreign national, you can also ask for your consular authorities to be informed (article 63-2). Maître Bruguière conducts the confidential interview and prepares each police interview directly in English.

The Penal Code punishes possession, transport and acquisition of narcotics with ten years of imprisonment and a 7,500,000 euro fine (article 222-37), whatever the quantity in strict law. Whether a file is treated as personal use or as dealing turns on quantities, packaging, cash, messages and the other elements of the investigation. That discussion is the heart of the defence, and it starts during custody, not at trial.

Very often, yes. In Paris and the surrounding courts, possession and street-dealing cases are frequently sent to comparution immédiate (immediate trial) as soon as custody ends. Your lawyer can ask for the case to be adjourned to prepare the defence; the court then rules on whether you remain in custody until the hearing. Larger trafficking files are usually referred to a juge d'instruction (investigating judge) instead.

Driving after using narcotics is punished by three years of imprisonment and a 9,000 euro fine (article L235-1 of the Road Traffic Code), raised to five years and 15,000 euros when alcohol is involved as well, with the loss of six licence points. Refusing to undergo the checks is a separate offence punished, since the law of 18 August 2026, by three years and 9,000 euros (article L235-3).

Yes. The firm's criminal emergency line is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at +33 1 87 66 00 48. Maître Bruguière travels to police stations throughout Paris and the Île-de-France region and works in English with clients and their families.

Courts where the firm appears in the Paris region:

All courts covered by the firm

See also: police custody lawyer in Paris, immediate appearance, criminal emergency and the firm's fees.

Page written under the responsibility of Maître Charles Bruguière, member of the Paris Bar, a firm exclusively dedicated to criminal law.

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