Prefect near Paris accused of blocking residency renewals

A lawyers’ association representing foreigners in France is taking a prefect to court over residency card renewal problems in a group action which is believed to be the first of its kind.

Avocats pour la défense des droits des étrangers (ADDE) alleges systemic failings in the renewal of cards by the Hauts-de-Seine prefecture, headed by prefect Alexandre Brugère, saying a growing number of foreign residents have been left without legal rights because of delays.

The prefecture, in a response to The Connexion, insists the situation is improving, however Hauts-de-Seine prefect Alexandre Brugère says he is unapologetic about a tough immigration stance, in a report in Le Figaro.

It comes as left-wing media l’Humanité reports that 200 local councillors in the department and 20 associations have signed an open letter demanding that Mr Brugère stop his “undocumented migrants factory”.  

Patrick Berdugo, co-chair of ADDE, linked the problems in the area partly to the prefect’s previous work alongside former Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin and the latter’s tough approach to immigration. He said that while other prefectures also have serious problems, Hauts-de-Seine stands out for the breadth of its failings.

“In Bobigny [Seine-Saint-Denis], you can’t get an appointment,” said Mr Berdugo. “In Evry [Essonne], almost no appointments for regularisations have been granted since 2022.

“But the thing about Nanterre [Hauts-de-Seine] is that nothing works. And on top of all that, they don’t comply with court rulings.”

In response, ADDE is bringing a legal case against the prefecture on behalf of a number of people facing renewal delays.

“We’re not saying the prefect is obliged to regularise everyone – he’s been on TV saying we have been mean to him and we are terrible revolutionaries – but in fact we just want him to apply the law.”

He said ADDE is mainly talking about people who “have jobs, homes and families, but are unable to renew their permits.”

Some cannot obtain an appointment; others do not receive a document maintaining their right to stay and work while their application is processed, he said.

“Employers stop employing them because an employer is not going to take the risk of employing someone lacking the right papers,” he said.

Mr Berdugo said he has been handling one case in which a court ordered the prefecture in 2024 to provide an appointment.

“In 2025, the court ordered the prefect to arrange it within 15 days and, failing that, to pay the person €50 for each day of delay.

“And today, we still have not got an appointment, so the person is now owed more than €20,000.”

The ADDE action before the Cergy-Pontoise administrative court seeks a ruling recognising systemic failings and ordering the prefecture to put an end to them. A hearing is expected later. 

This is not the first time that lawyers representing foreigners have criticised delays or taken individual court actions in the Ile-de-France region. However, it is said to be the first action de groupe against a prefecture for this, using a legal procedure that is relatively new in France.

This is a kind of French ‘class action’, where an association can bring a case concerning a group of people in similar situations arising from the same kind of failure to comply with legal obligations.

It was first introduced in 2014 but was expanded in 2025 to cover a much wider range of cases, making this particular action possible.

Asked whether ADDE had seen wider improvements following a Conseil d’Etat ruling and promises of government action earlier this year, Mr Berdugo said it remained to be seen whether any changes would be lasting rather than superficial.

He alleged that Hauts-de-Seine had recently begun issuing some appointments exceptionally quickly as it prepared statistics for its defence in the ADDE case.

“Quite a few lawyers have found that they have been given appointments for renewal applications within one or two days. One was given an appointment within two hours.

“They want to be able to tell the court that on average appointments for renewal cases are being given within three months. With waits sometimes reaching a year or 18 months, they now have to give some appointments within a day to offset them.”

The prefecture told The Connexion that processing had improved sharply following additional staffing, with average residency-card processing times down from 142 days in March to 92 days in July and the backlog falling from 24,000 cases in January to 16,000 in August.

It said the number of cards issued each month had doubled to 6,000 and that it would respond to ADDE’s claims before the administrative court.

The interior ministry, which has overall responsibility for prefectures, has also stated that it is aware of the issue of renewal delays nationally and is making the prevention of breaks in rights – particularly for employees – a priority. 

We note also that, as regards our own readers' experiences, the picture is varied accross France with some readers reporting delays with card renewals and others praising their prefecture's efficiency.

In this previous article we looked at avenues if there are delays; we have also previously reviewed how lawyers advise against inaction if the months pass with no response.

Note, however, that the danger of being 'undocumented' is not the same for all kinds of cards.

For example, a Brexit card holder benefits from strong residency protections from the Withdrawal Agreement, even if their physical card expires before it is renewed. Similarly, holders of a carte de résident de longue durée - UE have acquired residency protections under EU rules. 

Prefect ‘unapologetic’

In comments to Le Figaro, which did not address the issue of renewals for people who are in France legitimately, the prefect said: “I make no apology for having an extremely tough line when it comes to the regularisation of people in irregular situations”.

He added: “What are they [ADDE] reproaching me for, really, if not for having prioritised action to expel foreigners in an irregular immigration situation, and in particular those with a criminal background? Because from that point of view, yes, I accept that I have cut off the tap.”

He claimed, however, that the prefecture “regularises an enormous amount of people who should be regularised”.

An anonymous source in the prefecture was also cited as having said: “What ADDE has not understood is that we are nice with the nice ones and tough on the bad ones”, adding that they accept as many “talent” visa applicants as possible, in areas such as engineers, IT experts and doctors.

“Basically, whatever contributes something to France is good for us to take,” the source said.

• The Connexion publishes a guide to French visas and residency cards.