Questioned by the French right and extreme right, the 1968 agreement provides, on paper, advantages for Algerians who wish to settle in France. In practice, this is far from the case. It even presents constraints
The anti-migration discourse of the French right and far right has just found a new source of legitimacy in the person of Xavier Driencourt.
The former ambassador to Algeria (2008-2012 and 2017-2020) calls for the denunciation and renegotiation of the Franco-Algerian agreement of December 27, 1968. This agreement aimed, when it was signed – six years after the independence of the Algeria –, “to provide a comprehensive and lasting solution to the problems relating to the movement, employment and residence of Algerian nationals on French soil”.
Marion Maréchal, former deputy and granddaughter of Jean-Marie Le Pen (founder of the National Front, which became the National Rally, far right), praised her “foresight”, believing that the treaty “offers undue privileges to Algerian nationals in France”.
The president of the Republicans (right), Éric Ciotti, also agrees with the diplomat. “Algeria insults us and attacks us constantly and we say to them: ‘Come!’ This is not realistic”, he reacted in the form of a sermon which denounces an agreement “d ‘unbelievably naïve’.
“The Algerians laugh at our naivety”, gets carried away in the same way Xavier Driencourt.
A discretionary interpretation
In a note published in May on the website of Fondapol (Foundation for Political Innovation), a laboratory of ideas close to the right, the former ambassador deplored the maintenance of a regime derogating from common law set by the Code of the entry and stay of foreigners and the right of asylum (CESEDA) which promotes, according to him, the immigration of Algerian nationals while their State “does not fulfill its obligations, in particular with regard to the issue of permits – pass consular without which it is not possible to carry out the Obligations to leave the French territory [OQTF, title allowing to expel the people who entered illegally in France]”, he argues .
“No coherent migration policy is possible without the denunciation of the Franco-Algerian agreement”, also warns the former director general of the Administration of the Quai d’Orsay, considering that this text “deprives the legislator of the possibility to act on the flow from Algeria”.
For his part, former Prime Minister Édouard Philippe thinks that maintaining the agreement is unjustified when France has “complicated relations” with Algeria. Same opinion for the President of the Senate, Gérard Larcher, who believes that the text introduces “a kind of discrimination with other countries”.
But is this really the case? In the text, the agreement has certain advantages.
In 1968, France, which needed labor to accelerate its economic growth, wanted to encourage the arrival of Algerians by allowing them – and their families – easy access to residence.
But over time, this right has been gradually challenged. In 1974, the French state even suspended labor immigration in the face of rising unemployment.
Twelve years later, the establishment of a visa policy has deprived Algerians, in the same way as non-European Union nationals, of the possibility of traveling to France on presentation of an identity card, as stipulated in the 1968 agreement.
More importantly, the ten-year renewable residency certificate, provided for Algerians under the treaty, is a privilege that is not always easy to obtain.
For good reason, even if the applicants meet the conditions of residence (minimum three years of life in France) and resources (means of existence and professional activity), the decision often falls within the discretionary power of the administration.
In an interview with Middle East Eye , Fayçal Megherbi, a lawyer specializing in immigration law in Paris, talks about a case judged in 2020 by the administrative court of Versailles, near Paris, in which the prefect of Yvelines refused to issue a certificate of residence to an Algerian, on the grounds that his income was not stable.
The court, which annulled the decision, considered that the representative of the State had made an error of assessment and had not taken into account the evolution of the applicant’s lifestyle.
“This case shows that it is entirely possible for the administration to interpret the agreement as it sees fit or to exploit its shortcomings,” underlines the lawyer.
According to him, the discretionary power of the prefect also applies in the investigation of requests for family reunification, with sometimes abusive interpretations of the reception conditions (resources and surface area of housing).
In February, for example, the administrative court of Lyon asked the prefect of the Rhône to annul a decision refusing family reunification concerning an Algerian, also considering that there had been an error of assessment on the amount of income of the applicant.
“That’s not counting the increasingly long delays in processing files,” adds Fayçal Megherbi.
“Frozen in time”
In addition to the problems related to its execution, the 1968 agreement prevents Algerians from accessing other immigration mechanisms governed by the CEDESA, such as the exceptional admission to stay for foreigners in an irregular situation, set up in 2012 by former Prime Minister Manuel Valls.
This procedure allows foreigners to obtain a first residence permit bearing the words “private and family life”, “employee” or “temporary worker” for humanitarian considerations or exceptional reasons (parents of school-going children, exceptional talents, services rendered to the community, length of work or residence). But the Algerians are not entitled to it.
Nor can they claim the talent passport, a multi-year residence permit granted to highly qualified foreigners (researchers, teachers, engineers, etc.) who wish to work in France, or even the multi-year residence permit bearing the mention “ student mobility program”.
“The 1968 agreement has remained frozen in time despite the amendments it has undergone [in 1985, 1994 and 2001]. It does not fit with the evolution of French policy on immigration. In many aspects, it is much more unfavorable than common law,” Jean-François Martini, a researcher at the NGO GISTI (Information and Support Group for Immigrants) told.
He mentions in particular the fate of unaccompanied Algerian minors who, unlike nationals of other nationalities, do not benefit from any regularization system. “The 1968 agreement does not provide anything in this regard”, specifies our interlocutor.
Algerian students in France wishing to work are also harmed by the treaty. Contrary to their foreign comrades, for whom the student card is sufficient, they must apply for provisional authorization in order to be able to work. Moreover, they are only authorized to work within the limits of a half-time job which does not exceed 850 annual hours, compared to 954 for other nationalities.
Graduates, on the other hand, find it very difficult to switch to the status of employee. For good reason, applications for work permits, as provided for in the 1968 agreement, must be submitted to the prefecture by future employers. However, in many cases, companies are reluctant to recruit employees who do not yet have a valid permit.
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