Leave French citizenship rules alone and solve residency issues, rights group demands
After French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau sent out a
circulaire
(memo) instructing ministry and préfecture employees on how to
tighten the conditions for French naturalisation
, the French authority for human rights, known as the Defenseur des Droits, hit back.
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"Acquiring nationality is already excessively complicated," Claire Hédon, the head of Defenseur des Droits, told French news outlet
Franceinfo
on Tuesday.
"Between the time people submit a citizenship application and the time they receive a response from the préfecture, it can take years. The reality is that it's already very complicated," Hédon said.
The Defenseur des Droits is an independent authority enshrined in the French constitution. The body's job is to defend human rights and fight against discrimination.
Residency card renewals
Conversely, Hédon told the French news outlet that her primary concern is not making citizenship conditions more challenging.
She said the real focus should be on the accumulation of complaints that Défenseur des Droits has received regarding challenges with residency permit renewals.
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"What worries me regarding the rights of foreigners in France is the number of people signalling issues with residency card renewals. This has become a huge part of our job.
"We are talking about people who are perfectly integrated and do not pose any problem. They have been in France for several years, they have jobs, and they are being placed in an irregular situation by the administration."
"I am not criticising the local authorities or préfecture staff, who are themselves under strain, but [when people cannot renew their status] they are put at risk.
When asked about the source of this problem, Hédon said: "The préfectures do not have enough staff (...) I am criticising ANEF, the online system where many people renew their cards.
"The website bugs. It bugs for people trying to renew their cards and they cannot finish the request or they get stuck trying to change information. It even bugs for préfecture workers."
The Défenseurs des Droits issued a 40-page report in December highlighting the many challenges foreigners face with the ANEF (Administration Numérique des Étrangers en France) website, as well as possible solutions to those issues.
"But is there a real desire to solve this problem? I spend my time raising the alarm. At minimum we need to fix this problem for renewals for residency cards," she concluded.
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