“I don’t understand, France has always needed immigrants to develop,” confides Abdoulaye Bathily, a Malian cleaning worker based in Paris. In the aftermath of the far-right surge in the European elections, foreigners confide their bitterness and their fears.
“The new immigration law is already very hard for us, and it is very complicated to renew your residence card, but it will be even more complicated with the extreme right” in power, comments dejectedly Mr. Bathily, 59 years old, whose 35 years in France.
France’s main far-right party won 32% of the vote in Sunday’s European elections, nearly twice the presidential party’s score, leading President Emmanuel Macron to dissolve the National Assembly and announce legislative elections, risking to bring the far right to power in France for the first time through the ballot box.
Abdoulaye Bathily is “worried” about the historic victory of the far right, of which immigration is one of the favorite themes. “It’s absurd to say that there are too many immigrants in France”, “we have jobs in hotels, restaurants, construction [bâtiments et travaux publics] : hard jobs, which the French do not want to do”, underlines the one who gets up at dawn to clean up companies.
In the Paris region, immigrants represent 40 to 62% of workers in the home help, construction, hotel and catering, cleaning, security and agri-food sectors, according to official statistics from 2022.
The fifty-year-old, whose application for naturalization was refused, says he feels like a “third-class” citizen and refutes the idea that immigrants benefit from aid. “Of course, there are bastards, but like among the French, there are also many who behave badly.”
Mass immigration
Sunday evening, after the announcement of early legislative elections, the leader of the French far right Marine Le Pen assured that her party was “ready to defend the interests of the French, ready to put an end to this mass immigration”.
Sonia, an Algerian who obtained a one-year residence permit a month ago, also says she is anxious: “I’m afraid they’ll send me back to my country,” says this 38-year-old woman, now in rules after nine years of irregular presence in France.
Housekeeper, but also home help for the elderly or babysitter, she explains that she works “a lot”: late evenings, weekends. “I never take vacations, even during Covid people called on me,” emphasizes this granddaughter of Harki based in Marseille, in the south of France.
“We are told that we are not wanted, yet I have to refuse work for lack of time,” insists this resident of the poor neighborhoods in the north of Marseille who “doesn’t really understand” what immigrants are accused of. .
Mixed country
At the head of Singa, an international organization promoting the inclusion of newcomers in employment, Benoît Hamon denounces a vision of immigration based on “beliefs”, according to which foreigners live “on the backs of the French”. and “politicians who know nothing about the reality of migration”.
“How are we going to do without foreign workers’ retirement contributions? », Underlines the former socialist presidential candidate.
Luxury clothing seller at Bon Marché in Paris, Daniel Lago, an Ivorian, assures that he “does not want to take anyone’s place”.
Regularized after six years of wandering and odd jobs, the former deliveryman says he is “worried about [ses] brothers who do not have papers” in the event that the extreme right comes to power.
“We don’t leave our native land for pleasure, it’s because we have no choice,” insists the thirty-year-old, confident in the fact that France is “a mixed country” and that those who don’t have not voted in the European elections will move to the legislative elections, faced with the challenge.