in Marseille, for new naturalized people, “to vote is to exist”
Recently naturalized, they can take out a ballot in the ballot box for the first time during the French presidential election of 2022. And no question for them to miss this opportunity. A few months before the presidential election, RFI is in Marseille, a city that symbolizes diversity.
From our special correspondent in Marseille,
Some have put on their thirty-one, others not. But for all those who took place under the chandeliers with tassels of the salons of honor of the prefecture of Bouches-du-Rhône on this sunny afternoon at the end of November, it is a great day: there are about thirty of them. 19 different nationalities to receive their naturalization decree. It’s the first “Welcoming ceremony for new French people” in Marseille since the start of the Covid-19 epidemic.
Embroidered cap placed on the head, the sub-prefect to the relaunch of Bouches-du-Rhône imprints a certain solemnity at the moment. “ This moment is much more than an administrative formality, recalls Benoît Mournet in his speech. Today, France is no longer just your place of residence, it becomes your homeland. The decree gives you nationality, but also French citizenship. »And with it, rights and duties. Right to travel freely, to claim public employment, to exercise one’s religion freely …
The vote, the “most precious” right
But ” the most precious, underlines the representative of the State, is undoubtedly the right to vote. It is much more than a right to slip a ballot into the ballot box on election day (…) It shows that you are full members of the national community, and it also shows that we belong to a democracy, the principle of which is enshrined in article 2 of our Constitution: government of the people by the people and for the people “.
The first notes of the Marseillaise are a bit cut off and the voices behind the masks a bit shy. Once the naturalization booklet has been received from the sub-prefect, part of the assembly quickly disperses, without bothering to share a glass of cola to mark the occasion.
But some do not hide their joy. Hearing the national anthem, Béatrice Ntaye said she was moved at 50 years old, “ a new life began ” for her. This nursing home assistant is one of the few 12,000 foreign workers “on the front line” – health professionals, security or maintenance agents, cashiers, home helpers – who have benefited from a simplified procedure to claim French nationality. A ” luck »That the now Franco-Ivorian hastened to seize. Because for her, this naturalization has a taste of revenge. Coming to join her husband in France in 2003, the couple’s life quickly turned into a nightmare. “ I found out that he was drinking, aggressive and violent. At that time, she didn’t know anyone in Marseille and she was a housewife. After getting the divorce, she rebuilds herself. ” I felt at home but without being at home », She remembers. At the market, when someone hands her a campaign jitters, she can’t help but point out that she is not French and therefore does not have the right to vote. On election days, she feels ” a little bitter When he saw his friends go to vote. “ I had this little rage inside of me, she comments. I said to myself: I have my children here, I work here and I cannot go to vote! I must be French. “
“Until now, we were not asked our opinion”
This frustration, Beatrice is not the only one to have felt. ” Until then, we have seen people participate in the vote in our country and we were not asked our opinion, testifies Hamid Kaci. This is no longer the case today: we are fully included in this system. »Born in Algeria, under the French flag, it took 60 years for this original Kabyle to decide to apply for nationality. “ I procrastinated for various personal reasons, he justifies himself. And then the war left its mark … But today, he does not intend to miss his chance to give his voice. ” We come from different backgrounds but, he hopes by drinking with Lucine Hambardzumyan, of Armenian origin, on all at heart to exist as French and to participate fully in everything that is being built in France. »To participate is to vote? ” Essentially, he believes. Elector is to exist. “He is also sorry to see often” people from [sa] community, born in France, but who does not take part in the vote. It is in all of our interests to participate. I would like them to wake up and participate in the future of the country “.
Daniel Maina has also had a long journey. Arrived eight years ago from Kenya, an English-speaking country, he had to work a lot to learn French, to train. “ And now I have become a French citizen and have a stable job. It’s all I ever wanted to have. A dream come true », For the young man of 34 years. “ The vote, he says, is a sacred right “. However, this network engineer admits to never having voted in his country. “ I didn’t have the necessary confidence. Since I have been here, I have seen how leaders express themselves, what they have promised us, what they have given us, what I have managed to achieve, he enumerates, carried by the enthusiasm of the ceremony. So I am going to vote for the first time in this country. In my country ! ”
The importance of the vote, Carla Hocheid, like her Brazilian compatriots met during this ceremony, is well aware of it. “ We see for example what happened in our country “, Laments the young woman who is doing the paperwork” to be able to vote against Bolsonaro next year “. The social worker is also considering enlisting in France. ” We believe that politics is something remote, complicated. But that is part of our daily life: transport, accessibility for people with disabilities … Politics is not knowing the names of all the candidates and all of the parties. It’s every day. “
In 2022, all will therefore be what are called first-time voters. What subjects will the animation? As a social worker, Carla worries that “ the rights of precarious people, especially immigrants, tighten more and more. Hamid Kaci regrets that the extremes monopolize the countryside. “ I wish it had happened in a more peaceful way. “And that priority be placed on issues such as the economy, security, the fight against the virus.
An increasingly pressing “lack”
” On the fact, finally! We are real French citizens. »Mehir and Ahlem Ben Amar lightly sip a coffee in front of the prefecture. The champagne, they slashed it for a while, when they received the confirmation letter. Mehir has almost lived in Marseille all his life. However, it took his marriage to Ahlem, who arrived from Tunisia in 2008, for him to finally take the plunge. The couple explain that it was only recently that they felt a ” lack ”Of not being able to vote. Almost an emergency. ” It was calmer before, it flowed on its own. That’s why we didn’t think of giving our opinion “, They analyze, believing that things are” degraded “. Ahlem talks about the attacks that have hit France in recent years. So for them, yes, you have to vote for ” save democracy, the values of this country, save freedom, freedom of worship “.
If all say they want to participate in the presidential election next spring, many admit not knowing their electoral situation. Since 2019, people who have acquired French nationality are automatically registered on the electoral list. All that remains for them is to find out about their polling station, if this is not the case.
Béatrice Ntaye does not quite realize yet. She is still in her ” bubble “. She who did not allow herself too much to declare herself on French politics, to come and invest herself to decide who she would give her voice to. “ Now that I’m French, my voice counts. In December, her son will be 18: in 2022, they will vote together for the first time.