Promises that were presented at the Paris Olympics broken, says unconventional workers Immigration news

The names of the star mark have been changed to protect identities.

Paris, France – When Musa*, an undocumented construction worker, joined the Wildcat strike at the Adidas Arena building in Paris in the early hours of October 17, 2023, he hoped that the protest would lead to the papers he needed to travel to Mali.

Since his arrival in France in 2019, after he resigned a boat from Algeria to Spain, Moses, 25 years old, did not take one leave. After the death of his ancestors during his time, he felt a desire to return and mourning with his family.

For eight months, he worked in the square, which has 8000 seats and was ready for the 2024 summer Olympics. More than 400 building workers work on the site.

It has been compensated with regular wages sliding using another person’s leaves – a joint strategy between uncomfortable workers. He said that he was paid about 75 euros ($ 85) per day for arduous transformations for 10 hours in the square-which is average, which did not include transportation expenses, masks or other protection equipment.

Moussa offers are fruits.

The workers occupied the site before dawn, prevented it, then negotiated throughout the day. By evening, they had a deal.

After extensive discussions between Moussa’s employer, the city of Paris, and the workers and their union, a list of 14 unconventional individuals who worked on the site to the French police governorate, which deal with visa requests, was handed over in order to address their paper work.

They signed a framework agreement that would lead to a residence and health insurance permit. It was signed by the city of Paris, the construction company Bouygues, and many subcontractors.

But after 18 months, the files were not approved. Only one of 14 appointments was granted in Paris Governorate.

A number of workers who are not documented began to ask whether the delays are according to the design.

Moussa said: “We have not asked for a lot, just a residence permit and a health insurance card. It is our right. To this day we have no right to work in this country.”

Three of the 14 workers and Ravica Rahmi, a lawyer for the CNT-SO union focusing on the rights of expatriates, told Al-Jazeera that they provided all the information required of them more than a year ago.

“We have Payslips, we have everything. We are playing with the rules. But so far, we haven’t even called one.” “We have no idea why files take a long time. We have returned them twice.

“It seems to be in prison in France,” Adama, who also struggled to find comfortable housing. He sleeps in a room with 11 other people in the eastern suburb of Montreal. “It seems as if you don’t have papers in this province, you will not have any value.”

Despite these challenges and long transformations in construction work, Adama takes evening lessons to learn French.

“It is revenge.”

In January 2025, CNT-SO, which represents construction and cleaning workers, combined 13 files to Paris Governorate.

“The files are still banned, despite the fact that I have re -applied these 13 people,” Al -Rahmi told Al -Jazeera.

She doubts that the lack of response is a form of reverse reaction, as strikes revealed the bad working conditions in France in the period before the Olympic Games.

“It is revenge,” Al -Rahmi said. “For them, (amazing workers) (France) gave a bad picture, even if it was a fact.”

It is claimed that the project developer and the interior contracting companies – who did not respond to Al -Jazeera’s request to comment – prevented some workers from returning to construction sites, which means that they lost jobs and housing.

According to Adama, at least three colleagues have worked since October 2023, and they depend on charities to support their food and housing.

“We have information that the company that he hired did not return them. It was a disciplinary measure against the strike they participated in,” said Jean Frankua Colom, a representative of the La France party to La Abens, Lansimis. “It is a strategy to reject these employees in particular.”

In February, Colom wrote to the Minister of Interior in France through the government’s accountability mechanism about “the fate of the files submitted to Paris Governorate”, calling for “the legal organization of these workers.”

The message is still unanswered.

“The issue of the square workers is a systematic problem. It is a good clarification of the fact that these workers are silent due to the (unstable) administrative situation.”

The CNT-SO and the so-called Gilets Noir, or black jackets-tried a group of uncomfortable immigrants who are working to obtain administrative organization and housing rights for migrants in France-to accelerate this process through the city of Paris, where the city was one of the negotiating parties.

“We have connected a few holes by passing the mayor of Paris, because they are the mediator between our contacts and Paris Governorate. We want to know what the situation is,” said Duz, the spokesman for Gilets Noir, on the island. “Today, the situation is still, let’s not say completely prohibited, but it has been banned a little at the governorate level.”

Colom suggested that the Ministry of Interior prohibits approval of the files.

“The provinces take their orders from the ministry. As far as we are concerned, the governors are simply applied by the directives of the responsible minister.”

Al -Jazeera called the Minister of Interior and Paris, but he did not receive a comment by publishing time.

The rapid response and negotiations initially is a typical reaction when the city is examined before major international events, but often there is no follow -up when the noise dies.

“The case of the exception is that the Olympic Games brings can be really important to take advantage of workers’ gains,” said Julis Boikov, researcher and strength of the strength games: political history of the Olympics, for Al Jazerera. “The key is to imprison these gains while the hot glow of the Olympic lights is still shining in your city. After that, it becomes difficult to take advantage of that Olympic moment to make promises to these workers.”

This can be a suitable time for people to pay for rights, but the Olympic Games and other major sporting events also open the door to exploitation, especially for people in risky situations such as uncomfortable workers.

“This is just a more terrible example to take advantage of people to create a sporting event claiming to benefit many, but in reality it benefits the few,” said Boikov. “The Olympic Games tend to highlight what we might call the surplus of the population – whether we are talking about the athletes consumed or consuming workers who make the Olympic scene possible.”

Al -Rahbani said, “During the strike, all these people came and made great promises … The arrival of these deputies and members of the Senate to a demonstration or strike and they are committed to organizing these workers, but in the end, there is no follow -up, and they tell you that they have no power.”

“This ideology currently affects our country as a whole.”

For years, the government of France has hardened its position on immigration.

In December 2023, the French parliament passed a controversial law that distinguishes between foreigners “in employment mode” and those who are not. This measure made it difficult to receive the social benefits of expatriates out of work.

The new regulations have played in the workplace.

Between 2023 and 2024, according to official figures, the number of unrelated workers has decreased by 10 percent. The deportation, on the other hand, rose by more than a quarter.

“This ideology currently affects our country as a whole, with an instrument of migration, which means that we are following a completely utilitarian approach,” said Colom.

On the ground, Duz said that Gilets noir noticed the same phenomenon.

“The political situation in this country regarding immigrants and foreigners has become increasingly complicated,” Douz said. However, he insisted that the group will continue to pay for their rights. “We will not stop there. Even after 14 people are organized, we will not stop.”