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In the town of Ferrette located at the top of a hill near the Swiss border, few people expect to meet Eritreans exploring the ruins of its medieval castle or Chechens walking in its narrow and steep streets .
But this small town in the east of France has opened its doors to asylum seekers, who today account for about 10% of the population.
As the election campaign enters the last month leading up to the May European elections, the issue of migrants has been a central issue on a very divided continent on how to manage the influx of people seeking security in Europe.
Although flows have fallen sharply since 2015, when more than a million newcomers arrived, triggering the worst migration crisis in Europe since the Second World War, thousands more arrive each week, with nearly 19,000 arrivals since the beginning of the year.
With European governments paralyzed by what was needed and tensions on the ground, support for populist and far-right parties, who took the opportunity to advance their anti-immigrant programs, increases.
Since 2016, Ferrette has permanently hosted about 80 asylum seekers – half of them being children – from countries as far afield as Afghanistan, Sudan and Armenia. By SEBASTIEN BOZON (AFP)
But not everywhere, and certainly not in Ferrette, where Mayor François Cohendet oversaw a successful integration and said that the presence of migrants there was "not a problem", but was simply part of normal life from the community.
What could have been a challenge for this town of 740 inhabitants located in the south of Alsace, a region where the far right has attracted many followers.
Since 2016, Ferrette has permanently hosted about 80 asylum seekers – half of them being children – from countries as far afield as Afghanistan, Sudan and Armenia.
All hope to be recognized as refugees – or at least, that France will grant them "subsidiary protection", the status granted to asylum seekers who are not qualified as refugees.
"They said that Alsace was an area where there was racism but I did not feel it," said Djoe Kabuka, a smiling Congolese citizen.
According to him, the only problem with Ferrette is the lack of public transport and the need to travel to Mulhouse, a town 30 kilometers (18 miles), to find the type of food to which refugees are accustomed.
For the volunteers, the most frustrating aspect is the short duration of their stay, as they have developed close ties with the exiles. By SEBASTIEN BOZON (AFP)
The other thing is the weather. "It's very cold and very hot here," smiles Abundance, a teenager from Nigeria.
Initial hostility
It was only after the displacement of a squadron of gendarmes in 2015, leaving their old barracks empty, that regional officials asked the mayor to ask to use the premises as temporary accommodation for the plaintiffs d & # 39; asylum.
And when Cohendet agreed, he was faced with fierce opposition, even from members of his staff.
"The population, who at first was very reluctant to think about it, found that everything had gone well, that it was about discreet people, who kept themselves to themselves. and are not aggressive, "he says.
Leaving a cardboard binder, he pulls out a stack of flyers and brochures. Some wear slogans of anger like "Not a migrant on Ferrette" or "It is at home", while others use violent language.
The first to arrive were "two Sudanese black-skinned, wearing sandals in the snow," he recalls.
When Mayor Cohendet agreed to host the refugees, he faced fierce opposition, even from members of his staff. By SEBASTIEN BOZON (AFP)
But while some were protesting, he also saw other residents unite to help, with the emergence of a group called "Neighbors Around the World" that offered them French clbades. , access to a toy library, cooking clbades and even ski lifts to the hospital.
Samir Beldi, director of accommodation at the Adoma branch of Mulhouse / Ferrette, who takes care of migrants' housing, said things had gone well.
"The volunteers managed to fix the damage after a few worries, there were preconceptions but we turned the page on this," he said.
His deputy, Martine Kaufmann, approves.
"They are not" poor ", they were not necessarily poor at home," she says.
"Some of them have important qualifications, the diversity of asylum seekers is great."
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The vast apartments formerly occupied by gendarmes each accommodate large families.
Children learn in a clbad specially created at the school in Ferrette where they walk every day, bringing a young voice to the streets of the village.
In a yellow-washed duplex apartment, a newly arrived Sri Lankan family with a 14-year-old boy and three-year-old twins share the kitchen with an Armenian woman and her 17-year-old son.
Outside the barracks, green spaces are full of life.
An Afghan boy walks arm in arm with his Nigerian boyfriend while girls walk in the playground. Some women leave a sewing workshop because a volunteer helps a group of studious adults conjugate French verbs.
Asylum seekers now represent about 10% of the population of Ferrette. By SEBASTIEN BOZON (AFP)
"We involve them in the local life, in the daily life of people – in the celebrations of July 14, July 14. Whenever we can reunite them with the local people, we do it," said Elisabeth Schulthess, Director of Neighbors around World.
For the volunteers, however, the most frustrating aspect is the short duration of their stay, as they have developed close ties with the exiles.
Once their asylum application is accepted, they have three months to leave the center.
Those who get the right to stay in France often settle in Mulhouse where the job pool is more important.
But Schulthess complains of the very weak social support.
In 2018, 54% of the 141 people who came were granted refugee or subsidiary protection status in France.
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