They arrived Friday, November 11 on French soil, but not all of them will be welcomed in France: the 234 castaways aboard theOcean Viking, that France finally decided to welcome in the port of Toulon after a showdown between Rome and Paris on the question of maritime law, have for the most part been held since in the waiting area in a holiday center on the peninsula. Island of Giens. Franceinfo takes stock of their future and their support by the French authorities.
Unaccompanied minors entrusted to the child protection system
Children and adolescents who arrived in France without their parents, known as isolated minors or unaccompanied minors, benefit from maximum protection in the name of child protection. They were 44 on this boat and were all installed separately in a hotel in Toulon. They regain a taste for life, explains Christophe Paquette, deputy director general in charge of solidarity in the Var department, who was able to visit them. “I was quite struck by some childrenhe says, including a young girl who was practically prostrate when she arrived and then we saw with a smile the next day. They are children, so we do songs, drawings and games with them. And gradually, there are voices that relax and open up. It is true that it is quite nice to see them opening up, getting better and being relieved.”
These minors, 39 boys and five girls, will therefore be able to go to school and learn French. They received clothes including shoes, most of them had none. They are not expellable, until their majority in any case. Their integration is very often exemplary, adds Christophe Paquette: “The experience we have is that generally these are good integration paths. I have in mind young people who were the best apprentices in France.”
“We have had great integration successes. These are often young people who, when they are in apprenticeship, are highly appreciated by employers.”
Christophe Paquette, Deputy Director General in charge of solidarity at the Var departmentat franceinfo
In principle, after five days of sheltering, the 44 unaccompanied minors will be distributed in several departments of France.
Asylum applications examined for other migrants
There are about 190 migrants left, including a dozen children accompanied by their parents. They are in a waiting area, locked up in a vacation center on the Giens peninsula. Very decent living conditions but under the surveillance of several dozen gendarmes. For the moment, to our knowledge, none has left France for one of the nine countries which are to receive two thirds of these refugees. According to the government, these are Germany, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Malta, Portugal, Luxembourg and Ireland.
Sixteen agents of theFrench Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (Ofpra), hear these migrants one after the other in their language of origin with an interpreter. Protection officers arrived at the scene. They will make “personalized interviews to understand exactly who is who, depending on nationality”explained on franceinfo Didier Leschi, the director general of the French Office for Immigration and Integration (Ofii).
“We know from experience and from the continuity of exchanges on nationalities who is in need of protection or not.”
Didier Leschi, Director General of Ofiion franceinfo, Saturday November 12
These talks are due to end on Tuesday. If the asylum application is considered justified, the shipwrecked person is authorized to enter France to file it officially. On the other hand, if the application is manifestly unfounded, the applicant will be refused entry to the territory and may be kept in a waiting area before being sent back to his country.
Among these refugees, case law tells us that Syrians or Eritreans generally obtain the right of asylum. It is much more uncertain for the Egyptians, and frankly compromised for the Pakistanis or even the nationals of Bangladesh. The latter represent, according to our sources, about a third of these castaways.