In a cramped corridor of the Labor Exchange in Saint-Denis (93), around twenty people, men, women, children, wait, chatting in small groups. Behind a gray door, the newly created Human Solidarity Association in France provides advice and supports people in an irregular situation in their efforts. 

“We launched this project on December 30 in the middle of the debate on the immigration law,” explains, between two meetings, Bah Dabatako, one of the three founders of the association. “At the time, we were very afraid of certain measures, regarding restrictions on access to social benefits, the questioning of land rights or even family reunification, which fortunately were censored.”  

Since its creation, the association has organized two offices per week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The news has spread on social networks and there is no shortage of files. In the queue, some have been waiting for more than an hour. 

“I arrived in France in 2018, I work in cleaning,” explains Diakaraio, originally from Mali, in a soft voice, a slender figure wrapped up in his down jacket. “As you can hear, I didn’t go to the school but I'm here and I'm working."  

To his left, Cisse Mahamadou, a little goatee and afro contained in a patterned headband, also maintains the hope of obtaining his regularization. 

“My employer supports me in my efforts, it was he who told me to seek advice to see if with the new law, my situation can stabilize.” 

Light at the end of the tunnel 

For a long time, Cisse Mahamadou worked under the identity of someone else. A condition imposed by his boss who did not want to have problems with the labor inspectorate. “I had no right to anything,” he laments.  

This situation continued until the right meeting: his new employer took steps to obtain a temporary work authorization from the prefecture.  

With eight pay slips to his credit and a promise of a permanent contract in sight, the young man, who works in catering, will soon meet the criteria set by article 27 of the new immigration law on professions in shortage.  

This plans to facilitate the granting of residence permits to people in an irregular situation who work in sectors where employers struggle to recruit such as catering, personal assistance, maintenance or even construction. 

These employees are now required to prove three years of presence in the territory and 12 pay slips, instead of 24, as required until now by the “Valls circular” of 2012. Furthermore, they can now do it themselves. the same approach to the prefect, without asking their employer.  

“This last aspect is very important because very often bosses are reluctant when it comes to paperwork-related procedures,” underlines Coulibaly Hamidou, member of the association. “Some just don't want to get involved, others refuse to play the game because they know that by keeping their employees precarious they can better exploit them.” 

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Obstacle course 

The volunteer knows what he is talking about. Members of the Association regularly contact employers themselves to try to resolve tense situations.  

“The new article on professions in shortage brings some progress. He raises great hopes here among the people we see,” continues Coulibaly Hamidou. “But in view of the reality on the ground, it remains very insufficient, because in these professions, most undocumented immigrants work undeclared or under a false identity and are in fact excluded from this procedure.” 

Stuck in this situation for a long time, Cisse Mahamadou leaves his meeting with a smile, the feeling of seeing the end of a long tunnel. However, even for him, the road could still be long. 

While the initial text provided for the automatic granting of a residence permit, the final article is much more restrictive. The precious sesame opening rights to citizenship is only issued on a case-by-case basis by the prefect for a period of one year. It is renewable, provided, of course, that you remain in a profession under pressure. 

05:41

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