Question 10553 — foreigners

Summary

Mrs Danielle Simonnet draws the attention of the Minister of Health, Families, Autonomy and People with Disabilities to the serious deficiencies in the protection of unaccompanied minors (hereinafter UMs) on the northern coast in Calais and Dunkirk. A delegation of parliamentarians made up of Elsa Faucillon, Léa Balage El Mariky (represented), Paul Christophle, Charles Fournier, Martine Froget, Elisa Martin and Danielle Simonnet attended moved to the northern coast and was able to hear the alarming findings from the associations on site. In Calais, despite the existence of a system mandated by the State, the delegation was able to note its chronic undersizing. In 2024, Utopia 56 met 1,300 young people declaring themselves minors, 900 were referred to shelter and only 250 were able to be accommodateds. 300 refusals were recorded, including 139 due to lack of space and 72 due to a presentation after 10 p.m., the time at which the temporary emergency reception (hereinafter APU) closes. This saturation therefore leaves these children sleeping outside, exposed to violence and health risks, constituting a violation of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child (hereinafter CRC). In Dunkirk, there is still no state-mandated system. However, in 2024, the Red Cross recorded 879 minors there, including 15% were under 15 years old, some as young as 10 years old. During regular expulsions from informal living spaces, adults are referred to CAES, but nothing is planned for children, due to the lack of a mandated actor. The most recent data confirms a worsening of the situation: between January 1 and September 14, 2025, the Utopia 56 teams in Dunkirk met 939 unaccompanied minors, including 87 minor girls. Over the same period, 91 requests for shelter were refused compared to 66 accepted. These figures are probably largely under-representative, as the associations do not have the means to ensure an exhaustive census. Furthermore, in Dunkirk, shelter is located in Roubaix, more than an hour's drive away, constituting a major obstacle for many young people. In both territories, the under-dimensioning of State action and the insufficiency of resources allocated to departments have dramatic consequences. Firstly on physical health, with numerous ENT infections, osteo-articular pain, skin diseases and wounds, but also on mental health, where anxiety, depressive disorders, nightmares and insomnia sometimes fuel suicidal desires. Finally, a child on the street is a child particularly exposed to violence, whether it is trafficking, exploitation sexual violence, coercion to commit crimes or forced begging, but also police violence, the so-called “zero fixation point” policy aggravating the precariousness of exiles. The lack of safe and legal routes to the United Kingdom, particularly since the tightening of the right to family reunification by the British authorities, pushes many children to take senseless risks at sea or by truck, leaving them to the influence of networks. The situation on the northern coast constitutes a clear violation of France's international commitments, in particular the CIDE, which requires guaranteeing protection, accommodation and support for each child. Due to a lack of sufficient resources, departments are increasingly challenging the minority of these children, effectively excluding them from appropriate care, contrary to international commitments. She therefore asks him what immediate measures are envisaged to deal with refusals of shelter due to the saturation of emergency accommodation and the nighttime closure of APUs. She also asks what human and financial resources and what guarantees the Government intends to put in place so that no child is forced to sleep in the street or exposed to this violence, in accordance with the international commitments of the France. Finally, she wants to know when France will include in law a principle of presumption of minority, so that no child is left behind and that public policies fully respond to the best interests of the child.

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