For the 2010 DVD edition of RESF: a resistance network, we have worked out a glossary of key words heard in the films, related to France’s immigration policy. The information contained in this lexicon gives some context and details about the events recounted in the films.
PREFECTURE
Paradoxically, undocumented people are probably the category of the population living in France who most visit offices of public administration, in particular the Prefecture, which handles all their procedures. According to Cimade’s observation report, made on a third of French departments between October 2007 and March 2008, migrants are “ill-treated” by the administration. This report reveals major malfunctioning in the reception of foreigners, in public information and most of all in the processing of applications. This observation is representative of the difficulties migrants face when trying to assert their rights and shows that the French administration doesn’t consider foreigners as users like others. Prefectures sometimes even become dangerous places for migrants as arrests at the desk are on the increase.> Sources
- Rapport d’observation de La Cimade « Devant la loi » disponible sur www.cimade.org