Crackdown on counterfeits ahead of Paris Olympics

Ahead of the start of the Olympics on 26 July, I've noticed an increase in media reports regarding the French authorities' intensified efforts to crackdown on counterfeit goods. Major events like the Olympics and Euro 2024 are a magnet for fraudsters looking to make a quick profit. 

A few hundred metres from the Olympic village in Saint-Ouen, police carried out a major operation that resulted in the closure of 10 stores, 10 arrests, and the seizure of 63,000 counterfeit products. According to Reuters, police raids have been increasing since February - there were reportedly 10 raids carried out over 4 days in June near Montmartre to disrupt around 1,000 sellers of suspected counterfeits, and 70 tonnes of counterfeit products were destroyed in March 2024. 

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the organisers of the Paris Olympics have also joined UNIFAB, the French anti-counterfeiting and IP rights protection association. UNIFAB have trained 1,200 customs agents to identify counterfeit Olympic merchandise and the French authorities have employed 70 agents to carry out online anticounterfeiting work. 

Hopefully, this work will have disrupted some existing counterfeit networks and will act as a deterrent to other bad actors looking to take advantage of the millions of spectators who will arrive in Paris over the next few weeks. In 2023, the French Customs authorities seized 20.5 million counterfeit goods (a 78% uplift on 2022's seizures) so it will be interesting to see if the work around the Olympics this year continues this upward trend.