Blocked residence permits: lawyers demand €300,000 per month from the Hauts-de-Seine prefecture

The action was launched in July before the Cergy-Pontoise administrative court by the Association of Lawyers for the Defense of Foreigners’ Rights (ADDE). It targets the state and its representative in the department, prefect Alexandre Brugère.

This is no longer about challenging the refusal or delay experienced by a single foreign national. The ADDE is bringing a class action “to cease the breach” in order to have dysfunctions affecting residence-permit applicants collectively recognized.

Presented as a first in France, this procedure is intended to allow the court to examine the prefecture’s general operations. The association denounces “systematic obstruction” in the processing of renewals, according to an investigation by L’Humanité cited in a MRAP dossier from Nanterre.

On Bladi.net : The prefecture ignores her request: this Moroccan woman obtains 48 hours, 1,500 euros and 150 euros per day

To force the administration to put an end to the alleged breaches, the lawyers are seeking a penalty of €300,000 for each month of delay, calculated every six months. They also argue that foreigners prevail in nearly 30% of litigation cases in the department, compared with 20% in Seine-Saint-Denis.

These accusations directly echo several cases involving Moroccans. In August, an employee born in Marrakech obtained a court order requiring an appointment to be scheduled for her and a receipt to be issued within 48 hours, subject to a penalty of €150 per day. The prefecture had submitted no observations before the judge.

Moroccan women already forced to turn to the courts

Another Moroccan woman, the holder of a “talent passport,” had requested the renewal of her permit as early as January. Without a valid document after July, her employer had suspended her permanent employment contract, leaving her without income.

The court had suspended the prefecture’s implicit refusal and ordered it to issue her with a temporary residence authorization allowing the employee to return to work. The state was also ordered to pay her €1,000.

On Bladi.net : Her permanent contract suspended for lack of a valid permit: this Moroccan woman with a “talent passport” gets the state condemned

The class action now changes the scale of the litigation. Rather than forcing foreigners to initiate proceedings after each blocked case, the ADDE seeks a decision applicable to the general operation of the service responsible for renewals.

Alexandre Brugère publicly disputed the accusations made against his prefecture after the proceedings were revealed. The Cergy-Pontoise administrative court will have to determine whether the alleged breaches are systemic at a hearing expected in 2027.