Throughout France, the state pursues a profoundly racist
anti-immigration policy, which regularly relies on denying the age ofexiled children. In Marseille, these young people are organizing
themselves into a self-managed collective and fighting together for
their rights. Since July 4, forty young unaccompanied migrant minors
have occupied the Réformés kiosk at the top of La Canebière, Marseille's
main thoroughfare. Mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, they have survived
terrible ordeals to reach this point and simply want to live with
dignity in France.
Pretending to be minors, they should have been granted unaccompanied
minor (UM) status upon their arrival in France. But the French
administration, which seeks to make life as difficult as possible for
new arrivals, is making it increasingly difficult to grant this precious
status.
"Our African identity papers are not recognized," one of the young
people explained, due to the racist suspicion that African
administrations are unreliable. They must therefore undergo a process
steeped in racism intended to prove their age. This social screening
work has been delegated by the departmental council and its Child
Welfare branch to an association, ADDAP 13. The association relies on a
set of variable rules to define the possible age of these young people,
with random results, in order to maintain an increasingly limited
acceptance rate.
By refusing to recognize that the young people are minors, the state
absolves itself of its duty to house and educate them.
UCL Marseille
The forty occupants of the kiosk have endured all of this. Initially
housed in precarious conditions while their minority status was
established, they found themselves on the streets once it was denied. So
they occupied the kiosk to force the public authorities to react.
In addition to being denied the status to which they are entitled, they
are also denied access to education. "We can't do anything if we don't
go to school. We don't learn the language. And without the language, how
can we find work, how can we integrate?" Mamadou tells us[1]. He is
already a former member of the Binkadi collective. He was present at its
creation in July 2024. There too, a group of young people had to fight
to obtain their rights. By occupying a church in the Old Port of
Marseille, they were able to obtain a form of housing and schooling
thanks to their struggle and numerous mobilizations. Mamadou is now
receiving technical training. He is there to support the "newcomers."
Building the struggle
Binkadi is an autonomous collective of young migrants. They organize
themselves and make their own decisions, managing their struggles and
interventions. They hold an internal general meeting every Sunday to
decide how to proceed, maintain contact with each other, and communicate
with their supporters.
Abou, another "old-timer," tells us how they went to Paris to meet the
Parisian collective that occupied the Gaieté Lyrique in early 2025.
Several other similar collectives exist in Lille, Paris, and Tours.
He also tells us that a year later, while some young people were able to
obtain their rights and put them into practice, many gave up due to the
difficulties and the lack of response from the public authorities and
left for other, potentially more welcoming cities. "It's particularly
hard in Marseille. Why are we being subjected to this?" he wonders. Even
after the struggle in the summer of 2024, nothing was truly certain. All
winter, Binkadi fought to ensure that young people's education was
effective. The collective besieged the Departmental Directorate of
National Education Services to obtain a schooling solution for
forty-four of them, demanding "the opening of new classes for students
who do not speak French and newcomers, to address the growing number of
unaccompanied minors in our department and their need for education."
Then new young people arrived, who also had to fight. This third
occupation of the Réformés kiosk follows the one in February 2025. The
latter resulted in a brutal police eviction, requiring emergency
evacuations in the cold in the face of around twenty police officers.
This time, the occupation was prolonged but met with almost total
indifference from the public authorities. After fourteen days, a
rehousing association intervened to offer eight places. The young people
declined, demanding a collective solution. A new proposal from the
administration. On August 18, a new proposal for 11 places was made and
was again refused. Yet they describe a very difficult situation: the
site is too small for the forty people and their tents. The young people
have to sleep in shifts and are exhausted[2]. Attacks by outsiders have
already occurred, although not directly linked to the far right at the
moment. Many volunteers take turns to act as a buffer and a link every day.
Mobilization is not always easy. Many young people fear repression.
However, the success of the March 22, 2025 demonstration, which brought
together several thousand people, has given hope to some of them, who
are less afraid to demonstrate today. Thus, an attempt to mobilize to
demand solutions took place on August 1, with a call to numerous
organizations. Unfortunately, the police arrived in large numbers to
prevent it, but have not yet evicted the kiosk.
Racism everywhere, justice nowhere
The response given to them by the President of the Departmental Council,
Martine Vassal (Les Républicains), is indicative of the racist handling
of the migration issue: "I don't want any more minors. The law is
completely distorted. They're there to exploit the system. There are
enough of them. It must be said[...]80% of crimes in Marseille are
committed by foreigners." Faced with this racist contempt, the young
people retorted that "it's being on the streets that is violent" and
called for solidarity and society's duty to protect all people in
danger. Whether they are minors or adults matters little.
Generally speaking, public authorities pass this issue back and forth
between the City Hall, the Prefecture, the Departmental Council, and the
Ministry of Education. On numerous occasions, scheduled appointments are
canceled at the last minute under false pretexts. Although the
challenges are great, we can only support the resolve and courage of the
Binkadi collective, which is fighting back while trying to establish
self-management.
UCL Marseille
Validate
[1]Names have been changed.
[2]See the Binkadi collective's press release of July 17.
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Marseille-Collectif-Binkadi-quarante-jeunes-face-au-racisme-d-Etat
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