Editor’s Note
A recent auction of seized goods by French Customs at Bercy raised nearly €490,000, with 395 out of 398 lots—including vehicles, luxury items, and collectibles—successfully sold. The next auction is scheduled for January 30, 2025.
€489,690 was raised during the special auction organized by the National Directorate for State Property Interventions (DNID) at the request of French Customs, which took place yesterday at Bercy. The next sale will be held on January 30, 2025.
Vehicles, high-tech products, fine wines, perfumes, shoes, leather goods, ancient coins, precious stones, and luxury watches… 395 of the 398 lots presented at the auction held at Bercy, consisting of goods seized by Customs, found buyers.
Nearly 720 people had registered to attend the event in person at Bercy, and more than 3,700 internet users participated in the online auctions, including 300 from abroad (United States, China, Japan, Australia…).
Among the lots that most attracted the attention of visitors were an improbable pair of telephone shoes, a custom-made jacket by Versace bearing the name of Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton, 10 George V gold sovereigns discovered in a shop in the 10th arrondissement, lots of precious stones seized during the inspection of a bus by the Saint-Aybert customs brigade, and gold debris from counterfeit jewelry seized by customs officers from the Paris indirect contributions office.
The diversity of the lots sold today reflects this commitment and the variety of these public service missions carried out by French Customs.
The Domain (DNID-DGFIP) organizes about a hundred auctions every year: second-hand goods from public bodies, impounded vehicles, seizures and confiscations (judicial, tax, and customs), vacant estates, lost property. In 2023, DNID organized 311 sales, about a hundred by auction, with the other sales conducted by tender or removal contracts. The total sales revenue in 2023 amounted to over €102 million.
The next auction, on January 30, 2025, promises to be exceptional. Organized by the Asset Recovery and Management Agency (AGRASC), it will concern assets seized as part of investigations by the National Anti-Fraud Office (ONAF). Under the dual supervision of Customs and the DGFIP, ONAF conducts judicial investigations aimed at confiscating criminal assets.
– Versace Lewis Hamilton workshop jacket: Starting Price €350 – Hammer Price €4,000
– 10 George V sovereigns: SP €4,200 – HP €5,400
– Zodiac: SP €800 – HP €1,800
– Pair of Bottega Veneta sandals: SP €150 – HP €240
– Hermès RMS suitcase: SP €200 – HP €4,200
– Rolex Daytona watch: SP €6,000 – HP €20,500
– Audemars Piguet Royal Oak watch: SP €8,000 – HP €26,000
– Daytona case: SP €4,000 – HP €19,500
– Audemars Piguet Royal “Jumbo” watch: SP €4,000 – HP €19,500
– Mercedes touring set: SP €13,000 – HP €7,000
– Gogow motocross: SP €500 – HP €2,500
– Louis Vuitton Capucines Nano bag: SP €3,500 – HP €4,600
– Louis Vuitton Capucines Nano bag: SP €2,000 – HP €2,900
– Peugeot 508: SP €7,000 – HP €8,000