France’s powerful trade-union confederation CGT has issued an eleventh-hour call for demonstrations in front of prefectures across the country on Saturday, 15 November. In a communiqué released late on 14 November, the union says the mobilisation is aimed at “defending the equality of rights” for foreign workers who are trapped in months-long administrative limbo while waiting for their titres de séjour to be issued or renewed.
According to the CGT, hundreds of thousands of migrants risk losing jobs, housing and social-security entitlements because prefectures cannot process applications within statutory deadlines. Since the 2024 repeal of the so-called Valls circular—which had set clear criteria for regularisation through employment—the union argues that obtaining or renewing a residence permit has become “quasi-impossible”, even for people who keep essential sectors such as health care, cleaning, logistics and construction running.
![CGT calls nationwide rallies on 15 November to protest prefecture backlogs and demand faster residence-permit renewals]()
The union accuses the Interior Ministry of creating a de-facto “rights blackout” through chronic understaffing and malfunctioning online portals. It demands emergency staffing, guaranteed continuity of social rights during renewal procedures and the reinstatement of transparent criteria for work-based regularisation. Demonstrations are planned in Paris in front of the Directorate-General for Foreigners in France (DGEF) and in dozens of provincial cities.
For employers who rely on migrant labour, the CGT’s action highlights a growing operational headache. Companies complain that employees placed on unpaid leave while waiting for appointments leave production lines understaffed; temporary agency groups say they cannot deploy workers whose permits are in limbo. Mobility managers should anticipate short-notice absenteeism and build in longer lead times for relocations that require prefecture appointments.
In the medium term, the protests add political pressure on the government’s draft Immigration Code overhaul, which is scheduled for parliamentary debate next month. Observers say Saturday’s turnout will be watched closely by lawmakers gauging public support for loosening—or tightening—work-permit rules.
According to the CGT, hundreds of thousands of migrants risk losing jobs, housing and social-security entitlements because prefectures cannot process applications within statutory deadlines. Since the 2024 repeal of the so-called Valls circular—which had set clear criteria for regularisation through employment—the union argues that obtaining or renewing a residence permit has become “quasi-impossible”, even for people who keep essential sectors such as health care, cleaning, logistics and construction running.
The union accuses the Interior Ministry of creating a de-facto “rights blackout” through chronic understaffing and malfunctioning online portals. It demands emergency staffing, guaranteed continuity of social rights during renewal procedures and the reinstatement of transparent criteria for work-based regularisation. Demonstrations are planned in Paris in front of the Directorate-General for Foreigners in France (DGEF) and in dozens of provincial cities.
For employers who rely on migrant labour, the CGT’s action highlights a growing operational headache. Companies complain that employees placed on unpaid leave while waiting for appointments leave production lines understaffed; temporary agency groups say they cannot deploy workers whose permits are in limbo. Mobility managers should anticipate short-notice absenteeism and build in longer lead times for relocations that require prefecture appointments.
In the medium term, the protests add political pressure on the government’s draft Immigration Code overhaul, which is scheduled for parliamentary debate next month. Observers say Saturday’s turnout will be watched closely by lawmakers gauging public support for loosening—or tightening—work-permit rules.
