by Multidimension Paris | Nov 8, 2022 | France Today
Multidimension desk:
On 2 November 2022, the Home Minister Gérald Darmanin and the Labour Minister Olivier Dussopt outlined some important points of the future bill that will be examined by the Parliament from the beginning of 2023.
Gerald Darmanin described the new immigration bill as “mean to the bad guys, nice to the good guys”.
The stir created by the murder of the 12 year old girl Lola by an Algerian national against whom an order of “Obligation to leave French territory” (OQTF)* was issued earlier but not carried out, has further inflamed the debate on immigration. On 26 October, President Emmanuel Macron spoke on France 2 stating that “we have had too many arrivals in recent years”. Although he cautioned citizens from making generalisations and that he would “never make an existential link between immigration and security”, he nevertheless added that there is a high concentration of illegal immigration in Paris and that half of all crimes are committed by foreigners.
What should be retained from the law on immigration is to study each case individually in order to “better expel” and to monitor the OQTFs in a much harder and firmer manner. Thus, those who have an obligation to leave French territory in the future will be registered in the “File of wanted persons” (FPR)* and will be “monitored” by the prefectures. There will also be a simplification of procedures – four categories of appeal from twelve. The government’s target is to enforce OQTFs up to 50% by the end of 2023 and 100% by the end of Emmanuel Macron’s five-year term.
However, it will be difficult to enforce as consular passes must be obtained. It may seem according to the interior minister that life will be simpler for foreigners who do not disturb the peace and that multi-year residence permits will be automatically renewed. However, these multi-annual residence permits will only be given on the condition of mastering the French language and passing a French exam.
In this way, the state is trying to further regulate family reunification which is another form of immigration.
The Labour Minister Olivier Dussopt also stated that in future the administrative work permit will have to be requested by the employee in an irregular situation and not by the employer as is currently the case. Moreover, this new law on immigration aims to facilitate the professional integration of immigrant workers. Indeed, the unemployment rate is highest among foreigners. According to Olivier Dussopt, work should be the means of integration and emancipation. For example, he wants to put an end to the (long) waiting periods preventing asylum seekers from working during the first six months in France.
In addition, the Labour Minister also wants to introduce residence permits for “high pressure jobs” in sectors that have difficulty recruiting. There is a real imbalance between supply and demand for certain jobs. In 2022, many sectors were affected by a shortage of applicants.
In a survey published by the Employment Office (Pôle Emploi) entitled “Besoin de main d’oeuvre 2022” in April 2022, 10 occupations were selected as being the most difficult to recruit for, such as pharmacists, home helpers, plumbers, heating engineers and public transport drivers on the road. Of the 5,000 planned recruitments, 58% are considered difficult by the companies. Each year Pôle Emploi sends a questionnaire to companies to find out their recruitment needs by sector. This is essential to know the labour market.
This proposal has provoked other debates, according to Marine Le Pen it is “a wave of regularisation of illegals “. As for the Republican parliamentarians Eric Ciotti and Aurélien Pradié, it would be “a wave of massive regularisation. The president of the group in the Senate, Bruno Retailleau, writes “a call to the migratory air!”
The Home Minister, therefore, explained that there would be no mass regularisation since it would be “case by case” and “a chosen regularisation” for a few thousand people and that the LR could even propose a quota later on.
* Obligation de quitter le territoire français (OQTF)
* Fichier des personnes recherchées (FPR)
by Multidimension Paris | Nov 5, 2022 | France Today
Multidimension desk: Jecky Barua
To be eligible for public housing (HLM), the applicant must meet the maximum annual income criteria. The maximum allowed income depends on the type of housing, its location and the number of family members concerned of the housing facility.
For 1 person, the maximum annual income must be below 27481 euros and for a family of 2, the total income must not exceed 36700 euros. For a young couple, it is 44134 euros. For a family of 3 members it must remain below 44134 euros (if there is only 1 earning member and 2 dependents, the ceiling could be 53281 euros).
To apply for social housing, the income of the year n-2 (current year-2) is taken into account. For example, if an applicant applies for social housing in 2022, the reference of income (référence de revenu) of 2020 will be taken into consideration that appears in the income tax return certificate of 2021.
After the registration of your application, the waiting time will depend on which areas you have chosen as ‘your preference’. It may take a couple of years. The applicant must renew his/her application every year within the time limit until he/she receives a proposition and his/her candidacy is accepted by the commission of the social landlord. If the renewal is not done in the time limit, the application could be closed. People rarely get propositions of social housing before passing through the mediation commission DALO (Droit au logement opposable).
When to refer your demand to the mediation commission (DALO)?
If you do not receive any proposal for social housing adapted to your situation after a long waiting period, you can refer the matter to the mediation commission (DALO). In general case, the waiting period for receiving a proposition is mentioned in the housing application certificate (attestation de demande de logement social). After that period, the applicant can refer his matter to the commission. Generally it could be more than 3 years, but it varies between different districts (département).
If you are homeless, or threatened with eviction, or if you are living in housing unfit for habitation, you can refer the matter to the commission without any time limit.
If the Commission does not give you its decision within the specified period (because nowadays it does not issue rejection letters in a large number of cases), you can refer the matter to the Administrative Court (Tribunal Administratif) within two months from the day following the date mentioned in the registration letter of your application. And if you get a rejection letter from the commission, you can also refer the matter to the Administrative Court in the same manner.
On the other hand, if the decision of the commission is in your favour, if you are not given housing within the period of 6 months, then you can apply to the Administrative Court within two months from the day after the end of the period.
What is ‘Action logement’ and who are eligibles for the scheme?
Action logement is a housing scheme which was earlier known as 1% patronal or 1% Logement, i.e. employer’s 1% or 1% accommodation.
It is financed by the PEEC (participation of employers in the construction effort), paid each year by companies in the private sector and the agricultural sector with more than 50 employees. What does 1% accommodation mean? Until 1992, the rate of participation was set at 1% of the total payroll of the previous year. Today the PEEC represents 0.45% of the payroll.
The two main objectives of Action Logement are to help employees in their residential and professional mobility and to build and finance social housing.
Action Logement’s assistance reaches a wide spectrum of the population:
Employees of private sector companies with at least 10 employees
Employees of companies in the agricultural sector with at least 50 employees
Retired people, formerly employed in the private sector
Young people under the age of 30
First-time buyers
Jobseekers returning to work
Students with state grants
Disabled people
Landlords
Leasers
Tenants
Action logement can extend support whether you are a tenant, looking for a home, a homeowner, want to make renovations of your house, have to move far away due to you job or have financial difficulties.
by Multidimension Paris | Oct 21, 2022 | France Today
Multidimension desk:
On September 15, in a meeting with the prefects (high level administrative officers), the president Emmanuel Macron spoke about a bill on immigration that will be presented in early 2023.
According to the Head of State, the current policy is “absurd, ineffective and inhumane”. Thus, he proposes that in the future, it will be essential that the procedures are differentiated so that the instructions can be given more quickly. Requests must be processed much more quickly while respecting everyone’s rights to avoid “all delaying practices”. This will speed up and allow better integration of “those who have a temporary stay permit, through language and work”. That is to say, to allow the latter to take language training to learn the French language better and help them in their integration into the world of work. He also proposes a better distribution of foreigners on French territory by sending them to “rural areas which are losing population”.
That’s not all, Emmanuel Macron promises to improve deportation policies for foreigners in an irregular situation. He hopes to send “a clear message” to the world that France is strengthening its policies on granting of visas. He counts on the cooperation of the countries whose nationals are staying illegally in France or who have been expelled by France for disturbing public order, to take them back and grant them consular passes.
The immigration bill was to be presented in the fall according to the Home Minister, Gérald Darmanin. In the beginning of August, it was postponed on the pretext that there will be consultations on the subject within his ministry in the first place and then a big debate will take place in Parliament in October.
According to Marine Le Pen, ex-president of the National Rally, migration is a scourge that must be fought because “it is the origin of impoverishment, savagery and the weakening of national identity” of our country and our society.
During the presidential elections, the former candidate who came in second position had promised to “stop uncontrolled immigration by giving the voice to the French by referendum”.
Her party’s ambition is to put an end to the immigration of settlement and family reunification, to process only those applications for the right of asylum made from abroad, to reserve social benefits for French citizens and foreigners on the condition of having worked for 5 years, give priority to the French citizens for access to employment and social housing, systematic expulsion of illegal immigrants, delinquents and foreign criminals as well as the abolition of jus soli (right of nationality by birth in the territory of a country). Children born on French territory to foreign parents will be able to apply for naturalization when they turn 18 and show their desire to be French and their integration into France.
The acting president of the National Rally, Jordan Bardella, says that “Today’s France, everyone comes in and no one goes out”.
As for Jean-Luc Mélenchon, founder of France Unbowed, he preaches a more “humanist and realistic” approach to the question of immigration. According to him, the first task would be to ensure that foreigners do not leave their countries of origin because it is also a suffering for them to be far from their countries, their families and friends.
His promises during the presidential elections were to strengthen the International Organization on Migration and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, to oppose unequal trade agreements to prevent migrants from leaving their countries, to act against the climatic consequences through transfer of technology, financial and material aid, guarantee the right of asylum by taking time to study each file and finally, facilitate access to visas, regularize workers, students, parents of school children and set up the ten-year residence permit as the reference residence permit.
by Multidimension Paris | Sep 12, 2022 | France Today
Multidimension desk
Potential power shortage and price hike
According to the government and specialists, France is probably heading towards a shortage of electricity supply and an increase in its price.Thanks to the tariff shield established in October 2021, within the framework of the 2022 finance law, the price increase is limited to 4%. To respect the limit, the Government has decided to lower the contribution to the public service of electricity (CSPE).
Indeed, because of the war in Ukraine, the price of gas has increased and its import from Russia may stop completely in France as in other European countries. The relationship between the two is that part of the electricity is produced with gas.
The second reason is that many nuclear power plants are closed due to the discovery of corrosion in some reactors and others due to maintenance that has been delayed because of the health crisis. Currently, 32 out of 56 plants are shut down.
According to the schedule, once the maintenance is completed and the corrosion problems are solved, the plants will be restarted little by little. 23 plants will apparently be running at the end of November, 4 in December, 3 in January and the 2 remaining ones in February. However, the 56 plants will not operate simultaneously, those in operation today will be shut down due to maintenance.
The shortage is due to the lack of anticipation. In 2000 it was decided that there were already too many nuclear power plants, so no new plants have been built since. A new reactor will not be built until the end of 2023.
To avoid shortage and any general and uncontrolled power cuts, the last resort would be load shedding. That is, a power cut (not more than 2 hours) between 8 am and 1 pm and 5:30 pm and 8:30 pm. Only a part of the households will have a power cut in turn. Nevertheless, sensitive establishments (hospitals, security, national defense etc.) and people on artificial respirators will not suffer a power cut.
In front of such a situation, President Emmanuel Macron has appealed to the citizens to be “sober” in their consumption of electricity. But can the sobriety of some be a viable solution on a national scale?
Inflation and Financial assistance measures
Due to the prolongation of the war in Ukraine has led to an inflation that amounted to 6.1% in July and the price of food has increased by 7%. The rate of inflation has come down to 5.8% in August thanks to a slowdown in the rise in energy prices. But consumer prices increased by 0.4% between July and August, compared to 0.3% between June and July.
Taking into account the needs of the common French population, the government has increased the minimum wage by 2.01% from 1st August, i.e. 26 euros net per month. It is to be noted that SMIC was already increased by 2.65%, i.e. 34 euros net on May 1, 2022.
On August 3, the Government also adopted social support revaluation of 4% in the “purchasing power” bill which includes family allowances, RSA (income support), work bonus and 3.5% personal housing benefits.
Recently, CAF (Family allowances fund) has announced that financially weaker families will receive new assistance from September 15 onwards as part of the exceptional solidarity support from the Government taking into account the purchasing power of those families. Every concerned household will receive a sum of 100 euros and additional 50 euros for each child.
No action is required to receive this assistance. It will be paid to the families by CAF automatically.
by Multidimension Paris | Aug 16, 2022 | France Today
Published on August 16, 2022
The war in Ukraine has led to an inflation that amounted to 6.1% last month and the price of food has increased by 7%. The French population despairs and wonders how they will make ends meet at the end of the month and in the months to come. Many people are forced to go shopping at hyper-discounts as opposed to the big distributors where prices are only increasing.
Faced with this price increase in all sectors, the Government has decided to increase the SMIC (minimum wage) by 2.01% from 1st August, i.e. 26 euros net per month.
On August 3, the Government also adopted social support revaluation of 4% in the “purchasing power” bill which includes family allowances, RSA (income support), work bonus and 3.5% personal housing benefits.
The revaluation transfer will be sent to the beneficiaries from August 18 onwards by CAF.
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