From Lyon to Beauvais, French cities will see evening marches on 18 December as civil-society groups mark the UN’s International Migrants Day. In Lyon, protesters will gather at Place Guichard at 18:00 to demand the abolition of Interior-Minister Gérald Darmanin’s 2025 immigration law and the reopening of in-person prefecture counters, citing average 200-day waits for residence-permit renewals.
Organisers—including La Cimade, local trade unions and student collectives—say dematerialised (online-only) procedures have created a digital barrier for vulnerable applicants, leading to expired IDs, lost jobs and cancelled travel. Similar rallies are planned in Toulouse, Normandy and Paris under the slogan “Une journée sans nous” (A day without us).
While demonstrations are peaceful, employers of foreign staff should anticipate localized transport disruptions and possible delays in prefecture appointments if civil-service unions join the action. Mobility lawyers advise carrying proof of appointment requests and lodging renewal files well before expiry to avoid status gaps.
![Nationwide rallies mark International Migrants Day, highlighting visa-backlog anger]()
Amid this procedural uncertainty, VisaHQ’s France portal (https://www.visahq.com/france/) offers a one-stop solution for companies and travelers, providing real-time updates on prefecture rules, document pre-screening and hands-on filing assistance that can help keep residence and work-permit applications on track even when in-person counters are closed.
The protests also coincide with the Constitutional Council’s upcoming review of parts of the 2025 law, keeping immigration policy in the news cycle. Should the Council strike down key articles—as it did with earlier drafts—prefecture workflows may change again, compounding backlog uncertainty.
For multinational HR teams, the message is clear: monitor local prefecture websites daily and budget extra lead-time for residence-card renewals in early 2026.
Organisers—including La Cimade, local trade unions and student collectives—say dematerialised (online-only) procedures have created a digital barrier for vulnerable applicants, leading to expired IDs, lost jobs and cancelled travel. Similar rallies are planned in Toulouse, Normandy and Paris under the slogan “Une journée sans nous” (A day without us).
While demonstrations are peaceful, employers of foreign staff should anticipate localized transport disruptions and possible delays in prefecture appointments if civil-service unions join the action. Mobility lawyers advise carrying proof of appointment requests and lodging renewal files well before expiry to avoid status gaps.
Amid this procedural uncertainty, VisaHQ’s France portal (https://www.visahq.com/france/) offers a one-stop solution for companies and travelers, providing real-time updates on prefecture rules, document pre-screening and hands-on filing assistance that can help keep residence and work-permit applications on track even when in-person counters are closed.
The protests also coincide with the Constitutional Council’s upcoming review of parts of the 2025 law, keeping immigration policy in the news cycle. Should the Council strike down key articles—as it did with earlier drafts—prefecture workflows may change again, compounding backlog uncertainty.
For multinational HR teams, the message is clear: monitor local prefecture websites daily and budget extra lead-time for residence-card renewals in early 2026.
