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Migrating to the south of France, Roya Valley, on the Italian border (illustration). Marco BERTORELLO / AFP

Unaccompanied foreign minors are nearly 40,000 in France. Their number has doubled in three years, even tripled in some departments and the Assembly of departments in France continues to draw the alarm signal. Two issues are of concern to elected officials: a still very weak state financial contribution and the question of whether it is relevant to give departments the power to decide who is a minor and who is not.

These are teenagers to see more children. They have left their country, their families often at the risk of their lives. Isolated and more and more numerous in France ...

The departments in charge of hosting them are overwhelmed. " The Gironde is no different from other departments, explains Emmannuelle Ajon, vice president of the Aquitaine region (sud-ouets) responsible for child protection . In 2015, we went from 350 young people to 1,200 today. So a big and fast growth. Our devices are in saturation and we are always looking for creation of places of reception. Our concern, over and above the heavy financial investment, is that we no longer have professionals, such as specialized educators, for example, to come and work on these structures . "

Polemical tests

Another sensitive point for many of the local elected representatives is the so-called minority assessment tests, and in particular the bone tests performed on these young people to determine whether they are minors or not.

The Defender of Rights objected to the use of radiological examinations to determine the age of a person because of their inaccuracy. But last March, the Constitutional Council decided and validated these tests .

" It's very complicated to do and today, this device is saturated, but in tension. The professionals who work there are exhausted, we also ask to open more and more places which does not meet the skills of the departments and puts us in very great difficulty .

In the coming days the Secretary of State for Child Protection Adrien Taquet should make his conclusion on the issue of the distribution of foreign minors isolated in different departments.

► See also : The Constitutional Council validates the file of unaccompanied migrant minors