Strasbourg, Marseille, Lyon, Rouen, Rennes, Paris… Like last week, numerous rallies are planned this weekend across France to say “no” to the immigration law. They will notably echo calls launched by more than 200 personalities – actors, writers, journalists, trade unionists, etc. -, who denounce a “dangerous turning point in our Republic”, and by elected officials. The text, adopted painfully in mid-December, restricts the payment of social benefits for foreigners. it also establishes migration quotas, calls into question the automaticity of land law and toughens the situation for foreign students. As soon as it was adopted, the Constitutional Council was contacted. He will rule in a few days, on Thursday 25. But while waiting for this major step, what do the main stakeholders think?
For the knowledge, 20 minutes questioned Yaya, Hamdi and Ousmane. They are a doctoral student, sales manager, garbage collector. And they are of foreign origin. Here are their looks.
Yaya, sociology student
A doctoral student in the sociology department of Rennes 2 University, Yaya is elected a student at the Pirate Union. Arriving in France two and a half years ago, he obtained a scholarship to study for a semester in Rennes. “I feel good there and I decided to continue, I am currently in the first year of my thesis,” he confides. His goal: “to gain some experience before returning to Senegal to teach at university”.
- On the deposit requested from non-EU students:
“This immigration law is contrary to the values of liberty, equality and fraternity. How can we ask for a deposit from certain people? THE president he himself said it was a bad idea. The university is universal, integration must be inclusive… We cannot ask 7,000 euros from some and 200 from others! This is the power of the wallet, where is the equality?
It’s already extremely complicated to come and study in France. France wanted to attract more foreign students, but will they want to come if they have to pay more than others? The risk is that they decide to go elsewhere “.
- On monitoring the “real and serious nature of the studies”:
“If we want to control the serious nature of studies, we must control everyone, not just foreigners. Everyone I know is very serious. They work a lot because that’s what they came for. From start to finish, this law creates inequalities.”
Hamdi, sales manager
Sales manager in Paris, Hamdi, of Tunisian origin, arrived in France in 2000 as a student. He married two years later to a French woman. “If I had met my wife now, with this immigration law, I probably would never have been able to stay. And we would have missed out on our beautiful love story,” he tells us. He obtained nationality a year after this union.
- On the regularization of undocumented workers on a case-by-case basis:
“Access to employment is difficult for an average French person, so for a foreigner who has no knowledge of research methods and who will perhaps not benefit from the support of an association, it will be difficult to fulfill the required conditions*. Especially since foreigners are more victims of discrimination at hiring “.
- On the law of the soil and the end of automatic French nationality at 18 years old**:
“A child born in France to foreign parents feels more French if he or she obtains nationality directly. There, he will have to wait until he is 16 to apply for it himself. He risks being confronted with an identity problem, especially atadolescence. Personally, I felt better when I became French. All my immigrant hang-ups went away in that moment.
Generally speaking, if a foreigner obtains a residence permit, their procedures must be facilitated. Because the sooner he feels French, the sooner he will become a good French citizen. »
- On the deposit requested from non-EU students:
“ Adding financial barriers will mean that only students from wealthy families will be able to come to France “.
Ousmane, garbage collector
With almost four children, Ousmane previously worked in the construction sector. He is now a garbage collector. A former undocumented worker, he was regularized in 2011.
- On the regularization of undocumented workers
“ I went on strike for undocumented workers in 2008-2009. Thanks to it, there was the Valls circular, which reduced presence to three years (the condition for being regularized through work). You also had to have worked 8 months over the last two years but now, they will ask for 12 months.
It puts us at the mercy of the bosses even longer. If he asks you to start at 6 a.m. and you say no, he’s going to make you miserable when you ask to justify your work. I have known people whose residence permit was blocked for 6 to 8 months. This law does not at all help the situation of undocumented workers.”
“Children born on French soil will no longer automatically be French. But what will happen if the country of origin does not recognize you? »