In the heart of the protected forests of Cote d'Ivoire, children from neighbouring Burkina Faso, driven by hunger and drought, work for free in exchange for food: sharp machetes, heavy loads, spreading glyphosate without protection... After several years of slavery, they can hope to receive a plot of land to cultivate for themselves. These illegal plantations of which they are prisoners continue to nibble away at the already shrunken primary forest. 90% of the primary forest has disappeared under the onslaught of desperate planters whose income does not allow them to survive. Slavery, massive deforestation, untraceable, this criminal cocoa easily enters the legal and certified commercial circuit and ends up on the shelves of our supermarkets.

The chocolate market is worth 100 billion euros every year. In 2001, the industry committed itself to eradicating child labour in the cocoa fields and preserving the forest. Yet almost 20 years later, nothing has changed in Côte d'Ivoire, the world's leading producer.

A documentary by Paul Moreira. Produced by Premières lignes.