Securing an appointment at a French prefecture can feel like winning the lottery, but a new start-up says it has a solution. Alerte-Préfecture.com, which went live this week and posted its first wave of notifications on 15 November, monitors prefecture booking sites around the clock and sends SMS, email or Messenger alerts the moment a slot opens.
During its first 24 hours the bot flagged more than 50 openings across Meaux, Reims and Palaiseau for residence-permit renewals and DCEM travel documents, with some appointments as early as 17 November. Users can create one free alert; paid tiers add multiple dossiers and faster polling intervals.
![New real-time alert platform helps migrants snag scarce prefecture appointments]()
The service arrives amid public outcry over digital queues that can keep applicants refreshing prefecture websites for weeks. Advocacy NGOs welcome the innovation but caution that it risks creating a two-tier system favouring the digitally savvy or those who can afford premium plans. Alerte-Préfecture counters that it is merely automating a public process and that its data could help authorities identify under-resourced prefectures.
For global-mobility teams the platform offers a potential back-up strategy when urgent renewals are at stake, but companies should vet data-protection compliance before uploading employee information. Prefectures could also throttle bot traffic, so mobility managers should keep traditional booking methods in play.
Long term, the app highlights the need for the Interior Ministry’s ANEF portal to scale more reliably—especially with foreign assignee numbers expected to rise ahead of major events such as the 2026 World Expo in Lyon.
During its first 24 hours the bot flagged more than 50 openings across Meaux, Reims and Palaiseau for residence-permit renewals and DCEM travel documents, with some appointments as early as 17 November. Users can create one free alert; paid tiers add multiple dossiers and faster polling intervals.
The service arrives amid public outcry over digital queues that can keep applicants refreshing prefecture websites for weeks. Advocacy NGOs welcome the innovation but caution that it risks creating a two-tier system favouring the digitally savvy or those who can afford premium plans. Alerte-Préfecture counters that it is merely automating a public process and that its data could help authorities identify under-resourced prefectures.
For global-mobility teams the platform offers a potential back-up strategy when urgent renewals are at stake, but companies should vet data-protection compliance before uploading employee information. Prefectures could also throttle bot traffic, so mobility managers should keep traditional booking methods in play.
Long term, the app highlights the need for the Interior Ministry’s ANEF portal to scale more reliably—especially with foreign assignee numbers expected to rise ahead of major events such as the 2026 World Expo in Lyon.
