“It’s exhausting, grotesque”: without recognized nationality, she has been fighting for 15 years to have papers


Qfifteen years of a Kafkaesque galley and it never ends. Charlène and Willy Cazenave are French, but blocked in obtaining their identity papers. However, Charlène has the ultimate piece to unblock the situation: her birth certificate authenticated by the Cameroonian consulate. “I have everything that is asked of me”, the young woman despairs. But the Bordeaux court, in charge of her case, still makes her wait.

This is where the 28-year-old lives today. She grew up in Bayonne, arriving in France at the age of five, her brother Willy at eight. They were born in Akonolinga, Cameroon. Their mother’s French husband, now deceased, will recognize them as his children. Article 18 of the Civil Code applies: “A child is French if at least one of the parents is French…

Qfifteen years of a Kafkaesque galley and it never ends. Charlène and Willy Cazenave are French, but blocked in obtaining their identity papers. However, Charlène has the ultimate piece to unblock the situation: her birth certificate authenticated by the Cameroonian consulate. “I have everything that is asked of me”, the young woman despairs. But the Bordeaux court, in charge of her case, still makes her wait.

This is where the 28-year-old lives today. She grew up in Bayonne, arriving in France at the age of five, her brother Willy at eight. They were born in Akonolinga, Cameroon. Their mother’s French husband, now deceased, will recognize them as his children. Article 18 of the Civil Code applies: “A child is French if at least one of the parents is French. »

Authenticated acts

Errors in their Cameroonian birth certificate plunge Charlène and Willy into an inextricable situation. The French authorities do not recognize the document they produce. The obstacles will keep piling up. Let’s take a shortcut: after a court decision, in 2017, the City of Bayonne established an “act of recognition of French nationality”. It is based on Charlène’s birth certificate, this time obtained from the Cameroonian authorities by the Central Civil Status Service (SCEC), based in Nantes.

Prosecutor says state shouldn’t give fraudsters a second chance

With these documents, Charlène tries desperately to obtain her “French nationality certificate”. “It will allow the transcription of my foreign birth certificate into French law. “She asks the judicial court of Bordeaux. This ruled on September 12, 2019. “The prosecutor said that the state should not give fraudsters a second chance! » Reference to the original birth certificate which contained errors. And this despite the one finally brought by the SCEC.

Everything is in order. We are not “fraudsters”

The court asks for verification of the latter. The Cameroon consulate in Paris is responsible for this. New expectation. “He produced my birth certificate. It is the one already authenticated by the SCEC of Nantes. The consulate also authenticates it. “Everything is in order. We are not “fraudsters”! »

From now on, the court, and especially Charlène, are awaiting the new conclusions of the prosecution, before a new hearing. The ultimate, hopes the young woman. By “injunction to conclude”, the judge in this case imposes the deadline of March 14 on the prosecution. “But he can do it before,” Charlène stamps.

“Under guardianship”

I walk around with my whole file under my arm. It’s exhausting, ubiquitous

Until then, she and her brother have to make do with “the resourcefulness” that exhausts them. Phone on behalf of a friend. Impossibility to pass the permit. No vital card. The CAF, Pôle emploi… “I walk around with my whole file under my arm. It’s exhausting, grotesque. »

Charlène describes a life “under guardianship”. No project possible. “I have a baccalaureate plus 5. I have a degree in commerce, digital marketing and innovative projects. I would like to start my business. But I’m stuck. “Without nationality. “My mother became French when we were minors. We automatically lost Cameroonian nationality. »

“Everyone has the right to a nationality”: Alda quotes article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The association supports the young woman and her brother. She promises “initiatives and actions” very soon. An online petition denounces the situation. At the time of writing these lines, our requests from the Bordeaux prosecutor’s office had remained unanswered.



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