The Territorial Directorate of Limoges: an efficient reorganisation for the integration of migrants, beneficiaries of international protection and refugees

29/04/2021

A young Ivorian woman who arrived in France at the end of 2016 had her application successful in 2018. She signed a Republican Integration Contract (CIR) in November 2018 and her mastery of French allowed her to attend only the two days of civic training. She joined immediately a commercial employee training course at the AFPA, which she completed in June 2019.

A Syrian couple had to flee Syria. They arrived in France in early 2015. They accepted to take additional French classes offered by OFII, in addition to the civic training days provided for in the Republican Integration Contract. One of them, a famous journalist and caricaturist in Syria, continues to practice his profession in France, notably for the association Cartooning for Peace.

An Ethiopian man was among the people rescued in Pozzalo. He was repatriated to France by OFII and IOM, and arrived in Limoges on 31 August 2018. He signed the Republican Integration Contract on 30 October 2018, and was prescribed 200 hours of language training to learn French as well as two days of civic training. He was placed in an accommodation centre (CPH ARSL) for highly vulnerable people, where, as part of his integration, he is monitored by social workers from this centre, the local mission and the Territorial Directorate of the OFII in Limoges. He did work placements in the restaurant industry, and was then offered to join a civic service mission by OFII.

Despite their different backgrounds and origins, these migrants have one thing in common: they have benefited from a republican integration contract and then from professional integration assistance offered by the Territorial Directorate of the OFII in Limoges.

The action of the Territorial Director of Limoges towards an effective integration process is based on three pillars:

First, language training courses under the Republican Integration Contract (RIC) have been strengthened by doubling the number of hours per week, introducing evening and Saturday classes and opening new learning centres. This reduces the time needed to learn French and therefore allows for a faster and smoother integration.

Second, training for employment. The latter is based on agreements for professionalisation in agriculture and stockbreeding, agreements with the temporary employment branch or with a vocational mechanics school and with Renault Trucks or the Compagnons du Devoir. This makes it easier to train and offer employment to the beneficiaries of a Republican Integration Contract.

Finally, the beneficiaries of international protection are particularly monitored by this dynamic, which allows for rapid integration into society, especially as these integration mechanisms for vocational training and then employment are extended to an ever-increasing number of sectors.