Arriving in France at six, he loses his resident card after 50 years

Born in 1968, the Moroccan was six years old when he arrived in France. He subsequently benefited from uninterrupted resident cards between 1993 and 2024. When his last permit expired, on May 12, 2024, he applied for its renewal to the Corsica-du-Sud prefecture.

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The prefecture nevertheless informed him that it was considering rejecting his application because of his criminal record. Despite the observations submitted by the person concerned, the renewal was refused on January 21, 2025.

The man had notably been convicted in 2007 of driving while intoxicated and without insurance, then in 2011 and 2012 for threats, property damage and the prohibited possession of a weapon. Two other convictions followed: a three-year community sentence in 2018 for violent theft and death threats, followed by three years in prison, one of them suspended, in 2022 for repeated death threats, carrying a weapon despite a prohibition and malicious telephone calls.

Half a century in France is not enough

The Moroccan national nevertheless believed that the refusal excessively infringed on his private and family life. He pointed to his presence in France since childhood and argued that he had benefited from automatic rehabilitation for certain convictions.

The Marseille Administrative Court of Appeal rejected these arguments. In its ruling delivered on July 16, it considered that the seriousness and repetition of the offenses allowed the prefect to classify his presence as a serious threat to public order. The Marseille Administrative Court of Appeal specified that any rehabilitation does not prevent the administration from taking into account the facts underlying the convictions.

The judges also noted that the man was single, had no dependent children and had not demonstrated stable employment. He had produced a permanent integration employment contract signed in October 2023, but had told the police in 2022 that he had not worked for ten years.

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The Moroccan is not, however, subject to immediate deportation. After withdrawing his resident card, the prefecture issued him a renewable six-month temporary residence permit. The court considers that this solution does not disproportionately infringe on his private and family life and upholds the refusal to renew the card.