WELDI baseline report

Migrant population
400,000 foreigners (24% of the population; 20% from countries outside the
EU, biggest nationality groups from Northern and Western Africa, China and
Sri Lanka).
505,660 foreign-born residents (31%).
At least 45,000 people without a residence permit (based on 2022 number of
beneficiaries of Aide Médicale d’Etat, a healthcare policy for migrants without
papers, in 2022. Actual numbers are likely higher).
4,200 first applications for asylum in the département in 2022.
1,500 unaccompanied minors are currently supported by the département.
Around 500 people from Ukraine are still being housed in emergency accommodation
centres in Seine-Saint-Denis (managed by the state).
Socio-economic context
Seine-Saint-Denis is the territory with the highest number of jobs created in
Ile-de-France Region, however, growth does not benefit the whole population.
In 2019, 14% of immigrants were unemployed, compared to 9% of French
nationals by birth.
Some young migrants work in the informal economy, including networks trafficking
cigarettes, medicines, drugs, etc.
30% of Seine-Saint-Denis’ population are at risk of poverty and social exclusion,
compared to 15% for the rest of France.
Challenges and needs
Many residents with a precarious legal status are excluded from basic
rights such as decent housing or healthcare.
Problems of take up of rights, as social support services do not reach their
target groups, in spite of being entitled to them.
▷ Learn how to improve advocacy to identify obstacles to fundamental
rights.
In some areas of the public administration staff face challenges to understand
migrant rights and needs.
▷ Learn from training experiences in other local authorities.
Lack of coordination between the multitude of actors from different public
administrations (local, département, region, state) and civil society.
Lack of transparency of the service offer for newcomers.
▷ Need for tools to build and improve local governance.
▷ Need to learn how to apply methods of co-creation with migrants.
Negative societal climate on migration.
▷ Tools to improve the quality of the public debate of migration.
Severe situation of housing exclusion, which unproportionally affects migrants:
in spite of having the highest social housing rate in mainland France
(32% of the housing stock), only 11,000 out of 210,000 household applying
could be provided with social housing in 2021.
Informal migrant “camps” and squats and informal sub-letting arrangements
are common.
One third of all housing evictions of the region take place in Seine-Saint-Denis,
although the département only has a share of 13% of the regional population.
WELDI - Baseline report Département Seine-Saint-Denis, FR 50