The month of July is slowly approaching, and with it, vacation plans. But before boarding the first plane, you sometimes have to go through the paperwork box. And in Marseille, as elsewhere in France, has renewed its identity card has been part of the obstacle course in recent months. “I made an appointment in January for a passport,” explains Sarah. I had no date before mid-June! And now that everything is done, I have to get my passport back at least in twelve weeks! But I was told not to trust the possible SMS I might receive before notifying me that it would be ready. My plan was to leave in August. Well, it’s dead! »

“One of my uncles made an appointment at the end of April for July 7, Ali is surprised. The other has an appointment only at the end of September, in other words, holidays abroad are over for him! In the second city of France, according to the deputy mayor in charge of civil status Sophie Roques, the average waiting time to obtain an appointment varies between three and four months. “We offer around 300 appointments each week,” continues Sophie Roques. And it is estimated that demand is 50% higher now. In the first quarter of 2022, on a treaty almost 50% more files compared to last year at the same period. »

A center to catch up

“I had to go to Ardèche to be able to do my papers, says Juliette. I’m going to Valencia, Spain, this summer, and it’s true that I got there a bit late. And it was impossible to have an appointment in Marseille, or even around. ” Extended deadlines throughout the country, due in particular to the Covid-19 epidemic, and which led the government to announce a series of measures. It is in this context that the town hall of Marseille has organized itself to open an ephemeral space since Monday, in order to offer additional meetings at 90 boulevard des Dames, in the second arrondissement, until the end of the month. of July. “With this center, we will offer 1,000 additional appointments per week,” promises Sophie Roques.

And to regret: “I still have a point of vigilance on the side of the prefecture. The production times for identity documents remain very long, up to ten weeks, and town halls remain dependent on this organization. It is a particularly long phenomenon more than elsewhere. In addition, in Paca, 50% of files come from Marseille. We may need to invest more resources, and we have asked the prefecture to do so. Contacted, the Var prefecture, the center in which the identity documents are produced, has not responded to our requests at the time of writing.