L'Administration française

France is a highly centralized country and is often considered to be the birth place of modern bureaucracy. As a foreigner who works for the Ministry of Education (my official employer), I've had the privilege of dealing with lots of administrative agencies.

Today, my carte de séjour, the piece of paper I need to be allowed to live and work in France, expires. As such, I had to renew my card yesterday. I should have gone before, in case there was a problem, but I was waiting for documents to arrive from HR at the university, which was waiting for documents to arrive from the ANAEM (the agency that deals with foreign workers in France). I never received the documents. To be fair, I never knew which documents I actually needed, since every time I asked someone I got a different answer. Oh, the joys of complicated and constantly changing administrative procedures!!

Yesterday morning, I got up early, ran down the street to have identity photos taken in the lobby of a grocery store (a machine, not just a random person who takes photos in the lobby), and then hopped on the bus to go to the Préfecture. I arrived at 9:05 (it opens at 9:00) and found a line out the door. I thought to myself: "If I wait three hours and don't have the right documents, I'm going to kill someone!" Once inside, I took a number, found a seat, and waited. There were people everywhere. I probably heard 10 different languages. Slavic, Asian, Arabic, and random African dialects. Some people were there to renew cards, to get one for the first time, to apply for asylum. Others, French, were there to get titles for their cars, get a driver's license, renew their ID cards. If you think the BMV is chaotic, you should visit a Prefecture.

After about an hour, my number was called and I nervously approached the window. I greeted the woman working very politely and with a big smile. Every little bit helps! I explained that I came with every document I was able to acquire. I was missing the authorization to work, but she told me just to send it as soon as I got it. Lovely woman! She could have refused me, and then that would really have complicated things. But she didn't! I had my provisional card, a récépissé, within 5 minutes (see photo above)! As such, I remain a legal immigrant in France.