From: EuroNews
By Tomáš Zdechovský
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Around 30% of the total originates from a single country: Algeria. According to the report, the flow of legally manufactured cigarettes in Algeria smuggled to France increased by 300% between 2012 and 2016, raising concerns in Brussels over the billions of euros lost from the French and European budgets.
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The rejection of the EU’s help and the increased flow of contraband coming from Algeria have a direct consequence for neighbouring countries, especially Italy and Spain. They are used as secondary routes for smuggling cigarettes produced in Algeria into France. It has also a much bigger impact; by fuelling terrorist and criminal networks in the Maghreb region where these cigarettes are smuggled from.
