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 2024, 19,950 BIPs were housed within the National Reception Scheme out of a total of 96,586 places for asylum seekers. [3] According to OFII, beneficiaries of international protection stayed an average of 304 days in reception centres after having received a protection status in 2024.[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 2025, there were 11,898 places in CPH spread across the different regions as follows:

Source: OFII[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 94 departments were to be covered by mid-2025.[11]

Due to budget restrictions, the AGIR program has seen its scope restricted. While it was intended to support all refugees in a given department, a maximum number of people supported has been set for each department, and prioritisation criteria have been established for the year 2025, based on the concept of vulnerability that is, however, different from its definition in the context of an asylum application.[12]

The appendices to the Budget Law now include an indicator on the rate of people supported for 6 months by the AGIR program (mentioned above) and leaving the program with housing: mid-2025 it was 67% and a target of 75% was set for 2026.[13]

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 accommodation 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).[14] The platform maps out available accommodation options outside large cities and matches beneficiaries of international protection with a spot. In 2025, 14,430 housing places were mobilised for refugees thanks to this programme for 26,900 people (compared to 15,460 for 31,000 in 2024, 15,200 for 31,800 in 2023, 13,200 places for 26,400 in 2022 and 13,100 places for 24,200 persons in 2021).[15]

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.[16]

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] Ministry of Interior, Data disseminated during a meeting on national scheme on orientation, 3 December 2024.

[4] OFII, 2024 Activity report, November 2025, available in French here.

[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] La Cimade, ‘Premier bilan du DNA 2025’, February 2026, available in French here.

[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 2026, Annex on Immigration, Asylum, Integration, October 2025, available in French here.

[12] Ministère de l’Intérieur, Instruction AGIR, 31 December 2024, available in French here.

[13] Budget law 2026, Annex on Immigration, Asylum, Integration, October 2025, available in French here.

[14] DIHAL, Plateforme nationale pour le logement des réfugiés, May 2018, available in French here.

[15] DIHAL, ‘L’accès au logement des réfugiés’, online data, available in French here.

[16] 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.