Boy of eight held at Paris airport for more than a week

Kim Willsher - The Guardian

Over a week ago, an unaccompanied eight year-old boy was placed on a plane to Paris from Comoros, an island nation off the coast of southeastern Africa, and was detained at the airport in Paris for more than a week when officials discovered he had false travel documents, according to this article from the Guardian. The boy’s mother stated that she placed him on the plane to France because she wanted him to have a better life. The boy was allegedly carrying a French passport in his cousin’s name. When he arrived at the airport in Paris on 21 March, he was arrested and detained in an airport holding area, which raised immediate concerns for child rights advocates who are accusing French authorities of violating international child protection laws. He is not the only child to have been detained in the airport holding area. According to the article, 259 unaccompanied minors were held there in 2014 and, like adults, can be held there for up to 20 days.