BY DEREK JEFFERS

PARIS - Hundreds of undocumented immigrants are occupying churches, starting hunger strikes, and organizing demonstrations throughout France demanding they be given full legal status. On June 26 the government announced it was giving one-year renewable residency permits to only 48 of the 277 immigrants who started this movement by occupying the Saint Ambroise church in Paris March 22. The others were ordered to leave France within one month or face deportation.

In response, the immigrants from Saint Ambroise vowed to continue their fight until everyone received legal status. They occupied another church, Saint Bernard, in Paris on June 28 and organized a demonstration of 2,000 July 3. For the first time many Asian immigrants were among the marchers. The next day 10 of the immigrants occupying the Saint Bernard church began a hunger strike.

A first national coordination meeting of immigrants without papers met at the all-union hall in Paris July 20. The 50 participants represented movements in 13 cities throughout France and elected a secretariat of five people to coordinate actions.

New legislation and administrative decisions, particularly the Pasqua laws of 1993 (Charles Pasqua was the interior minister at the time), over the past few years have pushed many immigrants who formerly held a legal status into illegality. A young immigrant from the West African country of Mali, one of those who occupied the Saint Ambroise church, told the Militant that he had worked as a gardener for the city of Paris until he was fired after orders from the Prefecture. "My boss wanted to keep me. I was fired without any severance pay or any rights to unemployment benefits." The government, under the Pasqua laws, can refuse to give him legal status but cannot deport him because he is the father of a French child.

On July 12, 30 of those from Saint Ambroise began a two-day symbolic occupation of the all-union hall in central Paris with the support of the CGT (General Confederation of Labor) CFDT (French Democratic Confederation of Labor) and the FSU (Unified Union Federation) teachers union. In a written appeal the immigrants urgently called for solidarity from the unions.

"Almost all of us have worked here for many years and have often participated in struggles at our workplaces," the appeal said. "You know there is no difference between us, workers with or without papers. We are not in any way responsible for the increase in unemployment. Are we responsible for the closing of the mines in the North and East of France, the `restructuration' at Air Inter or in the defense plants? Having no right to health care, we are not responsible either for the deficit of the Social Security system. On the contrary, many of us have paid Social Security taxes but have no right to it today.

"The government wants to break our struggle by `offering' a one-year residency permit to 48 of us, and deportation orders to the others. We will not let ourselves be broken," the statement continued. "If we obtain papers, we will be better able to defend ourselves, French and immigrants. Our fight is also that of the French workers. If we win, it will be a victory for all. If we lose, it will be a defeat for all."

Union organizations have given some support, with the CFDT (French Democratic Labor Confederation) rail workers federation helping those from Saint Ambroise find a place to stay in Paris after their expulsion from the church. They were housed in a railyard for over two months before occupying the Saint Bernard church.

Hanafi, an Algerian worker from the GEC-Alsthom plant in Saint Ouen who participated in the June 15 anti-racist demonstration of 6,000 people in Paris, explained why he was there. "I have documents, I'm legal," he said. "You have to support the undocumented. It's not only because they're Africans. You have to participate whatever their nationality. It's a question of the unity of the workers."

For more information or to send a message of solidarity, contact Coordination nationale des collectifs de sanspapiers, 12, rue Saint Bruno, 75018, Paris, France. Telephone or fax 33- 1-46-07-16-19.

Derek Jeffers is a member of the CGT at GEC-Alsthom in Saint Ouen. Young Socialists member Elisabeth Sanguenetti also contributed to this article.  
 
 
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