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Annick Petrus, Les Républicains senator from Saint-Martin, was checked by customs on Sunday May 4 at Roissy airport, with 110 cartons of undeclared cigarettes in her luggage. The information was revealed this Wednesday by Mediapart. It was confirmed in the morning by the senator who, on her Facebook page, published a short text in which she wrote: "I made a mistake."
Annick Petrus was intercepted on the morning of Sunday May 4 as she got off the plane at Roissy, arriving from Saint-Martin. The 64-year-old former school principal had her luggage inspected by customs officers. They discovered 110 cartons of cigarettes. This represents around 22 kilos of tobacco with an estimated value of 14,250 euros. The goods had not been declared by the senator. In her online publication, Annick Petrus swears that she simply "lacked discernment". The senator from Saint-Martin writes: "I'd like to put it very simply: I made a mistake. When I agreed to transport a piece of luggage for an acquaintance on a trip between Saint-Martin and Paris, I lacked discernment. I shouldn't have accepted this kind of service, which is common in our territories" Annick Petrus was therefore the victim of a breach of trust. Deceived, "without her knowledge", in short. Moreover, the senator explained in the columns of Médiapart: "On every trip, I carry boxes and packages. These are people you know, you trust them. I've been doing this for years, between Guadeloupe, Saint-Martin and Paris. 95% of my trips, I carry a parcel for someone. I've never had a problem, and this time I had to go through a customs check," he says. With, however, more than 14,000 euros in surplus contraband.
Also in her online publication, the vice-president of the Senate delegation for overseas France specifies that she "paid the fine out of [her] personal funds". A customs fine amounting to 4,900 euros. Furthermore, Annick Petrus asserts: "I remain fully committed to my responsibilities, both in the service of the people of Saint-Martin and within our High Assembly."
For the record, in December 2022, Annick Petrus questioned Bruno Le Maire (then Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty) about the lack of customs personnel on Saint-Martin, saying: "Are you going to leave France open to all kinds of trafficking?"
