By Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International and Anne Savinel-Barras President of Amnesty International France
As important political deadlines approach, both at local and national level, it is important to condemn the worsening situation of thousands of men and women working in important sectors of society (catering, housekeeping, cleaning, public works, etc.) in recent years.
Many of them, who were in an ordinary situation and under contract in France for several years, even decades, could have fallen into a disorderly situation with all the very real consequences: loss of residence and means of subsistence, obligation to leave… This is not a matter of mere administrative error, but of a structured state system, which prevents men and women, who generally belong to any race, from being able to access a stable situation, considering career and sustainable life prospects in France.
This situation also locks them in a cycle of exploitation: arduous and dangerous tasks, non-compliance with job descriptions, overscheduled work hours, and so on. Labor law violations have been known for a long time, and disproportionately impact foreign workers in extremely precarious and increasingly intolerable situations. How can you defend yourself against harassment or hope to find another job, when the regularity of your stay in France depends so much on your employer? When you work seven days a week, hold three jobs and constantly prepare updates for your papers? “ They know that we have no choice, we cannot refuse. And when you get out of there, you’re broken»
summarizes one of the people we met, who has a series of fixed-term contracts at home help associations, with the most difficult mission. The situation is very contradictory. On the one hand, the need for workers is recognized and, on the other, policies are increasingly Kafkaesque, preventing them from achieving stability.
Although xenophobia is increasingly widespread, fueled by the media and figures hostile to foreigners, the existing political response in reality consists only of implementing restrictive and highly complex administrative measures. There are so many obstacles to achieving a dignified life in France: the increasing number of types and durations of residence permits constitutes a huge administrative and mental burden for everyone who, however, works regularly in the region.
In this administrative labyrinth, in recent years, immaterial demands have been added, which, contrary to the declared goals, have turned out to be a great trap.
Mentally put yourself in this situation: you have followed all the rules, submitted your residence permit extension file on time, you don’t hear back and the prefecture’s doors are closed to you. Your previous residence permit expires, you become undocumented overnight. In the incredible silence of this government, you lose everything: jobs, resources, the right to live and work in the country where you have lived for years. From a permanent worker whose rights have been weakened, and who is often discriminated against because of his origin, you become a social pariah, with all the consequences. Reduced access to or loss of social benefits, difficulty or even impossibility of finding shelter, and so on.” There are times when I have to choose between eating right and having a roof over my head.
“, one of these people told us. This has a particular impact on women, especially single mothers who have dependent children.
Without the support of lawyers, trade unions or specialized associations, some of which have become political targets of the Ministry of the Interior, the administrative labyrinth becomes such that you can no longer complete the process. It doesn’t matter how many years you have been in France. At any update, the slightest missing document, problems in understanding intangible application procedures, such as lack of access to a computer, or lack of understanding of a site that is only translated into three languages, or even significant prefect discretionary powers, and your request may well be rejected.
This administrative problem is experienced by all parties involved, including entrepreneurs who have good intentions. They sometimes encounter an obligation to obtain a work permit before employing people who retain the title “employee”, a permit that must be renewed every time there is a change in contract or an employer goes through the same dematerialization circuit. However, residence permits for work depend on these permits, and vice versa. A far cry from the “simplification surprises” trumpeted at the top levels of the country.
This ultimately creates a subcategory of vulnerable citizens who pay contributions but do not have access to the rights that come with it. We are far from the delusions conveyed by too many fake media or specialists, who are hostile to foreigners, and deliver speeches that trivialize rights violations, without forgetting ministers and other representatives of public authorities, who may give contradictory comments on this matter.
All of us, at one time or another, in the city or in rural areas, have heard individual stories about cooks, bakers, cleaners, household assistants, who found themselves in unusual situations overnight, about people who helped the elderly and were forced to abandon their clients after losing their residence permit due to unstable status.
The only way to reduce the discourse of fear and hatred is to point out the contradictory hypocrisy, and reform this ugly system so that it finally becomes practical, protective and realistic.
Agnès Callamard is the Executive Director of Amnesty International’s International Secretariat and the main spokesperson for this global movement, which has approximately 10 million supporters and offices in more than 70 countries. The Secretary-General is appointed by Amnesty International’s International Executive Office for an initial term of four years. His appointment follows an extensive global recruitment process. Agnès Callamard replaces interim general secretary Julie Verhaar. A member of Amnesty International France since 1991, Anne Savinel-Barras campaigned as an individual member and later became head of the local group in Lens-Liévin, regional head of the Nord-Pas de Calais-Somme sector and member of the National Council. Member of the AIF Board of Directors since 2022, now succeeding Jean-Claude Samouiller, president since 2022.
