Sun, sea and cocaine: the French in the Dominican Republic | M6 | Enquête Exclusive

Blue seas at 30o, sun all year round: the Dominican Republic is the preferred long-haul destination of the French. The key to its success: the hotel-clubs that offer all-inclusive packages, in a luxury setting at a price that defies all competition. A dream climate, an attractive tax regime and cheap labor. 6000 French people have settled permanently in the country. 3000 of them live in Las Terrenas, in the Northeast of the island: boules, supermarkets, bakeries, a little Gaul village under the palm trees. The other side of the coin: the fine villas belonging to foreigners have become the favorite targets for burglars because the Dominican Republic finds it hard to support its people. One in two inhabitant lives below the poverty line. So some young women make a radical choice. To feed their families they take jobs in “sex resorts”: sordid holiday clubs that include prostitute services. The other curse on the Dominican Republic: cocaine trafficking. In 2013, 10 tonnes of drugs were seized, notably in areas frequented by vacationers. We uncovered some unbelievable networks: recruited in the suburbs of France, mothers in need agree to act as mules for a few thousand euros. Sometimes, the trap closes on the tourists, who proclaim their innocence: we had an exclusive meeting with Léana Guillon in her Saint-Domingo jail. On her way to her honeymoon with her husband and his children, drugs were found in her luggage, supposedly placed there without her knowledge. Arrested at the airport, the young woman has been in jail for close to three years.