Labor Shortage Hits French Hospitality: Moroccan Workers Face Visa Hurdles

"There are still 120 to 150 seasonal workers missing in the department...", Denis Carminati, former owner of the Moulin inn in Sainte-Énimie and Lozère president of the Union of Hotel Industry Trades and Industries (UMIH), told La Dépêche. This labor shortage has intensified during the Covid-19 pandemic. Since the Covid crisis, it has become "a real obstacle course. At the national level, in our industry, there are 200,000 unfilled jobs. The French all want to be civil servants or Prime Minister, or stay unemployed. But they no longer want to do this work," Carminati further explained.

The problem is very real. "I need a full-time chef and a kitchen assistant, but I can’t find any," laments Amine Nfinif, from the Taj Mahal restaurant in Mende. "France Travail sends me people without experience or motivation." Subsequently, he receives a profile that interests him, but it’s difficult for him to recruit. "I received on my employer profile the CV of a chef who lives in Morocco. He is motivated, he knows well the cuisine I make, but the French Immigration Office in Casablanca doesn’t give him an appointment for the medical visit," says this immigrant who has been living in Lozère for fifteen years. "So he can’t apply for a work visa... This has been going on for four and a half months."

Phone in hand, Amine shows the notifications he receives: "These are automatic responses to my emails, where I’m given a number to call that never answers. The prefecture in Mende tells me they can’t do anything." The one who took over Taj Mahal in 2022, and who also works at the Massegros dairy, was forced to take unpaid leave until August due to the labor shortage: "For now, I’m at the restaurant with only one employee... I’m occupying two jobs at the same time to keep my business running, it’s hell."

In Carminati’s view, this situation is not isolated. According to his explanations, it forces some professionals to limit their activity due to lack of seasonal workers. "Migrant associations help us, but there are always blockages. Asking for regularization is complicated too. It’s a shame because these are people who want to work. Many employers also offer free accommodation. And I want to specify: they are paid the same as the French," he added.