FRANCE AND CHILD ABDUCTION: US Department of State 2005 Report

France has largely been effective in returning children abducted to France back to the United States, and until this past year, we did not discern a pattern of system-wide enforcement difficulty. 

In two cases this year, however, left-behind parents were severely delayed in enforcing return orders, which led to increased bilateral consultations and diplomatic intervention to seek their resolution.  These cases occurred in entirely different parts of the country and involved different officials.  One case became highly visible in the media, and six months passed after a Hague return order was issued before the case was finally resolved.  The other case, however, remains unresolved as of this writing.  In the first case, the taking parent was able to avoid enforcement by refusing to comply with enforcement officials and by concealing the whereabouts of the child. 

In the second, the prosecutor has taken no action since a return order was issued in March 2004.  The problems experienced in 2004 with respect to enforcement in France serve as a cautionary note that even in countries where Hague cases are handled well and frequently result in returned children, enforcement issues can and do occur.