TESTIMONY
It is from Algeria that Salim called on Olivier Delacroix on "La Libre antenna" of Europe 1. He and his wife had two children and form a Franco-Algerian family. He explains that the French administration refused to issue a certificate of French nationality to one of his sons, while his other son did not encounter this problem. Salim tells about his fight with the justice system that has lasted since 2013 to have his son's French nationality recognized.
>> Listen to Salim's testimony in full here
"We are a couple with two children. My wife is French and Algerian. We are Franco-Algerian and live in Algeria. We have never lived in France. We have French papers, a French family record book and a family booklet. Algerian family. In 2012, I applied for a certificate of French nationality for my two children. To my surprise, one of my children received his certificate and the other not. The body issuing these documents requested marriage certificates from the ancestors of my wife who is French.
They went back three or four generations. These marriage certificates do not exist, because they were French Muslims who married religiously, but not at the town hall. We relied on the Algerian justice. The procedure lasted two years. We married post-mortem couples. Documents had to be found, such as deeds of inheritance, to prove that it was indeed married couples who had children and who were French. You had to prove parentage and have these marriage certificates. It was already a fight with the Algerian justice.
" He risks no longer being French in 2022 "We then returned to the organization that issues the certificates of French nationality. Out of fear, I took this step with a lawyer to be sure of the result. Since 2013, the fight continues. The lawyer is struggling to keep my son French. Hearings will be held by the end of the year. My child's French identity card expires in 2022. He had two French passports, he is in our French family record book and he may no longer be French in 2022. I find that an aberration.
It's a mental ordeal because I don't want my son to know about it. It's a ranged combat that's difficult. We are treated differently because we have a different religion, because we live in Algeria, because our first name is different. It's a shame because we have so much in common with regard to the Mediterranean, our History, our future, the environmental challenge that awaits us. There are so many things that can unite us and strengthen our relationships.
>> Find Olivier Delacroix's Libre antenna in replay and podcast here
As a French-Algerian, I suffer from this gap which is growing from year to year and from the misunderstandings which are exacerbated. I think there is a form of administrative racism because we have a different religion, different first names, a different culture, because we do not live in France. When you live in France, another organization issues the certificates of French nationality. We have a different treatment. I still believe in justice, but my son's French nationality may not be recognized.
It's a shame to get there. We should take advantage of this mix and this diversity to go further and move forward. I work for the interests of a French company. I strongly believe in Algerian-French collaboration, and in the Maghreb and the Mediterranean in general. We must focus on the things that unite us and not those that disunite us. There are so many things that can unite us. "