Hauts-de-Seine Prefecture Imposes Citizenship Quiz on Undocumented Immigrants Seeking Residency

Tests with six mandatory questions imposed on AES applicants. This is the brainchild of the Nanterre prefecture. According to a copy of this exam revealed by Médiapart, they must answer the following questions: "What is the motto of France?", "What are the colors of the French flag?", "Who is the President of the Republic?", "Who is the First Lady of France?", "Which river flows through the French capital?", "On what date is the French national holiday?", "Where were the last Olympic Games held?". Two additional questions are at the bottom of the sheet stamped with the prefecture’s logo. The undocumented immigrants are required to choose "yes" or "no" to say whether they received help or not in answering the first six questions.

That’s not all. Some undocumented immigrants answer others, including "are your wife and daughters allowed to work and go out as they wish?" or "If your husband wanted multiple wives, would you agree?". Inès, a lawyer specializing in immigration law, who accompanied one of her clients to the 92 prefecture as part of an AES application, denounces these as "sexist questions". She raises the "illegal" nature of this approach. This procedure was put in place "after the Retailleau circular," the lawyer emphasized, indicating that it is "stressful and intimidating" for applicants.

Although no law requires them to answer these questions, undocumented immigrants are threatened with not receiving their receipt if they refuse, says Nadia, a legal expert in a law firm, reminding that the receipt allows undocumented immigrants to live legally in France while waiting for their residence permit to be issued. According to her, if the undocumented immigrants were Ukrainian, they would not have been subjected to such questions. "Everything is related to Islam, in fact," the legal expert denounced.

Lawyer Laurent Charles, specializing in immigration law, denounces "unfair" treatment, an "excess of zeal" on the part of the Hauts-de-Seine prefecture, but also the implementation of "an increasingly thorough verification system, to sort and more easily refuse applications or justify OQTFs" (Obligations to Leave French Territory). The legal expert points out that this method is reminiscent of the interview that naturalization candidates must pass. He fears that the applicants’ answers could one day be used against them in court. "Why not produce these forms one day in court?" he questioned to the same media.

When questioned, the Nanterre prefecture reminds that "the procedure for exceptional admission to stay must remain exceptional". These questions asked to residence permit applicants aim to ensure their "mastery of the French language, but also their adherence to the values of the Republic," he explained.