legal and social conditions for asylum seekers and refugees in ...

Quota refugees
French legislation does not include any provision for quota refugees.
Other types of residence permit
Territorial asylum
Although it has been granted in practice to some Algerians since December 1992, the concept of
“territorial asylum” was explicitly introduced into French legislation by Law of 11 May 1998.
According to Section 13 of the Asylum Act, “[i]n consistency with the national interest and after
consultation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Interior can grant territorial asylum
to an alien who can prove that his life or freedom are at risk or that he fears treatments contrary
to Article 3 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental
Freedoms”.
In a circular of 25 June 1998 implementing the new provision, the Minister of Interior restricted the
scope of territorial asylum by indicating that the status could be granted to an alien whose life or
freedom are at risk or who fears treatments contrary to Article 3 of the ECHR “if these threats or
risks are originated by a person or a group which cannot be assimilated to the state authorities”.
By decision of 26 January 2000, however, the Council of State (Conseil d’Etat”, France’s highest
court in administrative matters) cancelled this restrictive provision and stated that territorial
asylum could not be limited to threats issued by non-state agents, but should apply equally to
victims of state violence.
In practice, the OFPRA or the Appeal Board for Refugees, after having rejected an asylum
application, can inform the Minister of Interior or the Minister’s local representative (“Préfet” –
Prefect) that the applicant does not fall within the provisions of the Geneva Convention, but that
his/her “life and freedom” would be at risk in case of return and that he/she should therefore be
granted territorial asylum. In 1998, this happened in about 30 cases.
It is also possible to lodge an application for territorial asylum with the Prefecture simultaneously
with an application for asylum. In such case, however, the application for territorial asylum is
automatically suspended until a decision on asylum has been made. Applicants may also choose
to lodge a request for territorial asylum but no application for asylum, or to lodge the request for
territorial asylum after their application for asylum has been rejected.
Neither the Asylum Act nor the above-mentioned circular of 25 June 1998 provide for the
conditions and criteria for obtaining territorial asylum, which is granted at the discretion of the
Minister of Interior. The Minister’s decisions are not reasoned.
In case of a negative decision by the Minister of Interior, applicants may either lodge a request for
administrative review (“recours gracieux”) with the Minister or, within two months, appeal against
the decision to the Administrative Court. Such an appeal, however, has no suspensive effect and
the procedure is very lengthy.
Persons granted territorial asylum are issued with a one-year residence permit, which can be
renewed twice for one year. The renewal may be refused if the circumstances that have justified
the granting of the status have changed. After this three-year period, they may receive a
permanent (ten years) residence permit. They are allowed to work and are granted the same
status and social rights as migrant workers.
In 1998, 1,339 applications for territorial asylum were submitted and 224 decisions made.
Territorial asylum was granted in 8 cases only (3,6% of the decisions). From January to May
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France