French police make nearly 50 arrests in child porn case

The age of the men in custody differs from 26 to 79. "It's the common man; there is no typical profile, unemployed, retired, working people", said a source close to the matter to the Catholic daily La Croix. At the moment, the men are suspected of consuming illegal content. However, the police will investigate whether they have committed "more serious things", such as sexual assault or rape, the same source said.

Several municipal councillors and a municipality mayor were arrested and placed in police custody. The police also detained members of the National Education and people working in child welfare. One or more suspects were officiating a host family, reports Valeurs Actuelles.

"The idea was to carry out a group punch operation to make paedophiles understand that monitoring on the Internet is constant", indicates divisional commissioner Frank Dannerolle to Le Parisien. Seven suspects are known for similar facts, being registered in the file of sex offenders and criminals.