Why Greg Should Stay in Paris

Patrick Weil once pointed out that the actors involved in any immigration policy are a multitude of interests.  At the government level there are the decision-makers on the side of the receiving state certainly but also the home country of the migrant who retains sovereignty over its citizen and has a limited right to intervene on his behalf.  On the migrant side, in addition to those foreign residents already on the receiving country's soil, are all those in other countries who might be attracted or dissuaded. And whether or not these migrants are "desirable" or "undesirable" depends greatly on who you talk to:  the man or woman in the street, the political parties, the churches, the military, higher education, the unions and, of course, industry.

A few days ago an American living and working in France, Greg Beuthin, was denied a renewal of his work permit and was handed an "injonction de quitter le territoire sous 30 jours" (a deportation notice).  This gentleman works for a company called Commerce Guys which is an e-commerce company with offices in both France and the U.S. which offers solutions based on Drupal Commerce, an open source e-commerce framework. Mr. Beuthin, who is bi-lingual French/English, was brought over as a Senior Expert in this technology and he seems to be very much appreciated by his colleagues and his company who are flabbergasted at the idea that Mr. Beuthin is not welcome here:

La présence et le dynamisme et l'expertise de Greg à Paris contribuent à la formation de techniciens et ingénieurs français qui peuvent ensuite plus facilement trouver un emploi en France. Son rôle d'encadrement en tant qu'expert senior est un élément structurant de la capacité de Commerce Guys à continuer son développement et à recruter en 2012.
Greg's presence, energy and expertise in Paris is contributing to the training of French technicians and engineers who can then more easily find a job in France.  His leadership as a Senior Expert is an important element in Commerce Guy's ability to continue to grow and to recruit in 2012.

If I may reformulate?  The message they are sending to French decision-makers is simply, "Are you completely insane?  His presence is good for us as a company, good for French IT workers and by extension good for the French economy overall."

Now I wasn't there and I don't know what the prefecture was thinking and I may be missing something here but Commerce Guys is pretty upset.  It's clear that they think that the deportation notice is entirely unjustified and driven by political reasons.  And they are not simply going to accept this decision without a fight:

Nous avons donc pris un avocat conseil et avons réuni toutes les pièces permettant de démontrer que Greg ne "prend pas la place qu'un chômeur français pourrait occuper". Nous attendons aujourd'hui le retour de la préfecture sur ce dossier, avec espoir. La décision de la préfecture est "discrétionnaire", elle a donc complète autorité pour juger si le cas de Greg mérite d'être reconsidéré. Nous nourrissons l'espoir que la raison économique l'emporte sur des considérations politiques.
We have taken on legal counsel and have prepared all the documentation necessary to prove that Greg is not "holding a position that could be performed by an unemployed French person." We are waiting for the response from the prefecture on this matter with hope.  The prefecture's decision is "discretionary" and they have complete authority to decide if Greg's case should be re-examined.  We are hoping that economic rationality will prevail over political considerations.

You can read their entire defense, POURQUOI GREG DOIT RESTER À PARIS!, of their employee on their website.

Whatever the outcome, I have to say that I am deeply impressed that Commerce Guys is willing to go to bat for Mr. Beuthin.  They look like a darn good company to work for and if I'm ever in a position to send business their way, I will.

The "Circulaire Guéant": It's a Small Small World

It didn't take long for the news to go international with depressing results for the image of the French nation.

The New York Times published this article France is Sending North African Graduates Home earlier this month.  Apparently other articles were also published in major newspapers all around the world and the news is out.  Le Monde is reporting that French government officials and recruitment teams for foreign talent are being "harassed" with questions about the "May 31 Circular" wherever they go.

Damage control is finally underway.  The Prime Minister, François Fillon, sent this letter clarifying the intent of the measure.  He says:

La France est extrêmement attaché a sa tradition d'acceuil des étudiants étrangers, qui constitue un élément important de l'attractivité internationale de ses écoles et de ces universités.  Notre objectif est d'attirer les meilleurs étudiants du monde, en particulier en master et doctorat, au bénéfice du rayonnement de notre ensignement supérieur et de notre pays.
France is very attached to her tradition of welcoming foreign students who are an important element in the attractiveness of her schools and universities.  Our objective is to attract the best students in the world, in particular graduate students, to the benefit of our system of higher education and of our country.

And he goes on to say that he agrees that some students who really should have received work permits were indeed denied them and he has asked for their cases to be re-examined.  That is a good response and very well done on his part.

On the other hand, the very same day Fillon's letter came out Claude Guéant was once again in the news with a new attack on legal immigration saying, yet again, that there are simply too many immigrants coming to France.  In his article he repeats his resolve to reduce the numbers, vows to fight against abuses by immigrants of French social services and adding, for good measure, an assault on bi-national marriage: "Beaucoup de mariages sont frauduleux. Il faut, qu'avec le ministre de la Justice, nous veillons à ce que les mariages soient des vrais mariages." (Many of these marriages are fraudulent. We must ensure, by working with the Minister of Justice, that these are real marriages.)

Talked about a mixed message on the part of the government and one that goes so far as to personally offend me.  If Mr. Guéant would like  to examine whether or not my husband and I have a "true" marriage and that the products of our 23-year marriage, our Frenchlings, are really our children, I suppose he has that right.  I doubt however that such action would convince any member of our family (French citizens and non-citizens alike) of the "attractiveness" of France.

Le Monde ended their article by quoting Jean-Pierre Raffarin on the options open to international students:  "Entre une administration canadienne accueillante et une administration française un peu fermée, ils font vite le choix." (Between a welcoming Canadian administration and a French one that is closed, they quickly make their choice.)   I said it before and I think it's worth repeating:  migrants have options.  I sincerely hope that the French government realizes that it's not just international students they risk losing, it's all migrants who just might decide that a work or residency permit is no compensation for having to breathe poisoned air.