The delays to obtain an identity document in the Val-de-Marne have never been so long. It is currently necessary to count 85 days to get an appointment in town hall to make his passport or his identity card. Then, the prefecture takes five to six weeks to process the file. It is then necessary to add ten days for the manufacture. This explosion of requests which is explained by the postponements due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Everywhere in France, town halls and prefectures have been completely submerged since the end of 2021. An emergency plan has been put in place by the State because there is an emergency. Every day, the Val de Marne prefecture, which handles requests from Essonne, receives between 2,100 and 2,400 files. They currently have just over 50,000 files to process.
A 33% increase in requests in one year
“Currently we receive around 33% additional requests”, explains Mireille Larrede, general secretary of the Val de Marne prefecture. In the first four months of 2019, 130,000 files were processed against 174,000 for the start of 2022. The requests mainly concern identity cards.
The reasons are mainly related to Covid-19 and the postponement of procedures during the pandemic. According to the prefecture, more and more Ile-de-France residents also want to have the new biometric identity cards because they are required by certain airlines or certain banks in particular.
More meeting slots and more resources for town halls
To deal with this wave, the State is setting up an unprecedented system to unclog services. The Val de Marne prefecture has been given eleven additional contractors who will come to reinforce the teams. Agents who must manage no less than 90 titles each day. Catch-up operations are also organized on certain Saturdays. The prefecture has exceptionally opened four times in recent weeks.
The most urgent requests, in particular departures abroad for compelling professional or family reasons and cases of title theft, are given priority. National identity cards and passports expired less than five years ago will be valid for taking the exams organized in May and June and for registering for driving licenses in driving schools.
– Manon Derdevet
Finally, the Val de Marne prefecture will provide nine large communes of the department of a collection device. This device makes it possible to take the fingerprints of the applicants, an essential step in the processing of the file. The city of Créteil is one of those who will be able to benefit from this additional collection system.
This will make it possible to go from seven to eight devices and therefore be able to open more slots. By May 24, the city will go from 370 weekly slots to 500. A system that will remain in place until All Saints Day. In Créteil, those who would ask for an appointment now have no chance of having their passport before September.