The Versailles prosecutor's office has officially announced a wide-ranging judicial investigation into French international and Paris Saint-Germain defender Lucas Hernandez and his wife, Victoria Triay, on serious charges of human trafficking and unauthorized employment. This legal action follows a complaint filed by a Colombian family who worked for the player, a case first reported by Paris Match magazine and which has sparked considerable controversy in French sporting and legal circles.
Details of the charges and harsh working conditions
According to reports, the complaint was filed by a father, mother, and their three children, who found themselves working for the player and his family for a full year without any legal rights. Lola Dubois, the family's lawyer, explained to AFP that her clients worked under extremely harsh conditions, putting in 70 to 80 hours a week without paid leave or weekends off, and without any official documentation proving their employment rights or providing them with social security coverage.
The lawyer pointed out that the family was receiving a net salary of approximately €2,000 per month, an amount disproportionate to the grueling hours of work in France. Dubois described the situation as akin to "a form of modern slavery," exploiting the Colombian family's "economic vulnerability." She added that the employment contracts drawn up later were merely "to give the impression of legality" after a year of exploitation.
Hernandez's defense: We are victims of manipulation
In response, the 2018 World Cup winner with the French national team and his wife issued a joint statement vehemently denying the accusations, asserting that they had never acted with malicious intent or contempt for the law. The statement indicated that the couple felt their trust had been betrayed, emphasizing that they had "helped, supported, and believed" the family members when they assured them they were in the process of regularizing their legal status in France. Hernandez and his wife added, "These people have shared our lives with respect and dignity," considering themselves "victims of manipulation" in this affair.
The sporting and legal context and the impact of the case
This case casts a shadow over the career of Lucas Hernandez, a key defender for both the French national team and Paris Saint-Germain. The player, who transferred from Bayern Munich to the Parisian club in a big-money deal and won the 2018 World Cup, now faces a legal challenge that could affect his public image and focus on the pitch.
Legally, French authorities deal very strictly with cases of unauthorized employment and the exploitation of domestic workers. The charge of "human trafficking" in this context falls under the category of exploiting vulnerable individuals to impose inhumane working conditions. This incident is the latest in a series of cases involving football stars off the pitch, reigniting the debate about the legal and ethical responsibility of celebrities towards their employees and the necessity of strict adherence to local labor laws to avoid such complex legal disputes.
