Housing

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Beneficiaries are allowed to stay in reception centres 3 months following the positive OFPRA decision.[1] This period can be renewed for 3 months with the express agreement of OFII.[2] No exception are provided for vulnerable people.

During their stay in the centre, beneficiaries are helped in finding accommodation according to the mechanisms adopted by the local authorities. At the end of 2022, 20,464 BIPs were housed within the National Reception Scheme out of a total of 101,886 places listed by OFII (which differs from the total listed by the Ministry of Interior).[3] According to OFII, beneficiaries of international protection stayed an average of 274 days in reception centres after having received a protection status in 2022.[4]

Beneficiaries can be sent to temporary accommodation centres (Centres provisoires d’hébergement, CPH) upon an OFII decision. They will be then allowed to stay there for 9 months. This stay can be renewed once for a 3-month period.[5]

At the end of 2023, there were 10,655 places in CPH spread across the different regions as follows:

 Source: La Cimade, disseminating OFII data. [6]

Among the CPH places, 66 are dedicated to vulnerable women who are victims of violence or human trafficking. These are the only accommodation places dedicated to vulnerable BIPs.

Integration mechanisms

Beneficiaries have to sign a republican integration contract in which they commit to respecting French fundamental values and to complying with French legal obligations.[7]

The implementation of integration mechanisms relies on Prefectures and local authorities. They sign an agreement with stakeholders to support and assist beneficiaries with their integration.[8] The agreement between Prefectures and local stakeholders determines the role of each actor and their obligations towards the beneficiaries.[9] The organisations running centres for BIPs (CPH, mentioned above) have to house the beneficiaries but also support them throughout their integration process. They have to assist them in accessing French classes, funded by the French State, and accompany them in choosing their professional orientation. At the end of their stay in CPH, beneficiaries fall under the general rules applicable to foreigners and have to integrate the private market to get housing.

The actions implemented to facilitate beneficiaries’ integration vary from an area to another. 12 months, in case the initial duration of stay has been extended, may not be enough for beneficiaries to get integrated. France terre d’asile and Forum réfugiés manage systems intending to facilitate this access to integration. These mechanisms are focused on beneficiaries’ integration but are based on the French general provisions dedicated to access to housing for insecure populations.

In 2022, the government introduced a new global programme, named AGIR. This programme was influenced in large part by the ACCELAIR programme of Forum Refugiés implemented from 2002 to 2022 in Lyon and then in other regions (Occitanie, Auvergne). It aims to provide global support for refugee integration concerning housing, employment and benefits.[10] This programme, launched in 2022, continued its deployment and 52 departments were to be covered by the end of 2023. As of August 31, 2023, 40 programs were operational, making it possible to support more than 8,300 people. It should generalised to the entire national territory in 2024.[11]

Moreover, several integration projects have been developed through the country in 2019 such as HOPE, a program run by AFPA (a public institution) which provides professional training and accomodation for refugees in many departements.

Another example of proactive support is the national platform for the housing of refugees, introduced as a pilot project by the Inter-Ministerial Delegation for Accommodation and Access to Housing (Délégation interministérielle à l’hébergement et à l’accès au logement, DIHAL).[12] The platform maps out available accommodation options outside large cities and matches beneficiaries of international protection with a spot. In 2022, 12,532 housing places were mobilised for refugees thanks to this programme for 23,354 persons (compared to 12,796 places for 22,846 persones in 2021).[13] Figures on the year 2023 are not available.

Destitution

However, despite several measures taken to further beneficiaries’ access to accommodation, a high numbers of status holders leave reception centres with nowhere to go.

Moreover, many beneficiaries of protection live in the streets or in camps. In Paris, amongst thousands of migrants living in camps that are regularly dismantled, 15 to 20% are refugees.[14]

Overseas France: No specific policies for refugees are implemented in overseas territories (no CPH, no AGIR programs etc.)

^{[1] Article R. 552-11 Ceseda.}

^{[2] Ibid.}

^{[3] Figures obtained by La Cimade and published in : La Cimade, Vers un nouveau schéma national d’accueil : orientations directives et refus des conditions matérielles d’accueil, 12 March 2024, available in French at : https://bit.ly/3TTEm2z.}

^{[4] OFII, 2022 Activity report, available in French at: https://bit.ly/3J2lp7C, 25.}

^{[5] Article R.349-1 Code of Social Action and Families as amended by Decree n. 2016-253 of 2 March 2016 relating to temporary accommodation centres for refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection, available in French at: http://bit.ly/2jNt1xD.}

^{[6] Figures obtained by La Cimade and published in : La Cimade, Vers un nouveau schéma national d’accueil : orientations directives et refus des conditions matérielles d’accueil, 12 March 2024, available in French at : https://bit.ly/3TTEm2z.}

^{[7] Article L. 413-2 Ceseda.}

^{[8] Article L. 561-14 Ceseda.}

^{[9] This agreement is attached by to Decree n. 2016-253 of 2 March 2016.}

^{[10] Ministry of Interior, 15 décembre 2021, “Lancement d’AGIR”, available in French at: https://bit.ly/3CvZykO.}

^{[11]  Budget law 2024, Annex on Immigration, Asylum, Integration, October 2023, available in French at: https://bit.ly/4ct0VT5.}

^{[12] DIHAL, Plateforme nationale pour le logement des réfugiés, May 2018, available in French at: https://bit.ly/2VLkDRp.}

^{[13] Ministry of Interior, ‘Comité stratégique : schéma national d’accueil des demandeurs d’asile et d’intégration des réfugiés’, Meeting of March 20, 2023}

^{[14] Francetvinfo, Évacuation de campements de migrants à Paris : “Une partie des personnes se sont évaporées dans Paris”, d’après l’adjointe à la mairie chargée de la solidarité, 7 November 2019, available in French at: https://bit.ly/2wpLmMy. See also, InfoMigrants, ‘Dans le nord de Paris, près de 400 personnes évacuées d’un campement’, 10 october 2023, available in French at : https://bit.ly/4cHdAC4.}