On Friday, June 28, a major event occurred at Orly Airport in Paris. Passengers on a flight to Bamako refused to sit down, preventing the plane from taking off. The reason for the protest?
The presence on board of Moussa, a 25-year-old Malian subject to an obligation to leave French territory (OQTF).
Moussa, originally from Mali, had left his native country for France when he was a child. For a month, he had been the subject of an OQTF after being evacuated from a squat in Montreuil, run by the association En gare.
Moussa was carrying out social patrols there, providing aid to the most deprived. During this evacuation, he was waiting for the issuance of a provisional residence permit, which had been granted to him by the administrative court but never given to him by the prefecture, as reported by VA.
The Paris-Bamako flight, on the tarmac at Orly, was the scene of a spontaneous mobilization. Refusing to see Moussa deported to a country he had long since left, the passengers launched the rallying cry “Free Moussa”. This mobilization was amplified by personalities such as the activist Assa Traoré and the singer Kalash. Thanks to their call, Moussa was finally removed from the plane.
However, this victory is temporary. Moussa was returned to the administrative detention center, where he has been held since his arrest. He can stay there for up to 90 days, while the French authorities consider scheduling other flights for his deportation.
This act of solidarity by passengers raises questions about France’s expulsion policy and the fate of migrants awaiting regularization.
