The 25-year-old young man is subject to an obligation to leave the territory, even though he has lived in France for ten years. A support group is mobilizing around him to try to have this OQTF canceled.
He has lived in France for ten years, but his daily life is now threatened. Kélétigui Sylla, nicknamed “Kélé”, arrived in France from Guinea when he was only 15 years old, and has since built his life on Lyon territory.
But since 2020, he has been threatened with an obligation to leave French territory (OQTF), accompanied by a two-year ban on returning to the territory.
“My life is here. I’ve been here for ten years. I can’t imagine my life elsewhere,” he laments at the microphone of BFM Lyon.
Supported by an entire collective
When he arrived in France at the age of 15, Kélé worked his way to obtain a CAP as a machining technician. However, an injury forced him to reconvert. He then obtained a BTS, then an internship in a company. But the OQTF to which he is subject today prevents him from having a job.
“I feel completely dejected about all of this. I feel powerless compared to this injustice that I am suffering,” he declares.
This Monday, December 2, Kélé went before the Lyon administrative court to voice his desire to stay in France. And he was not alone, but surrounded by a support committee which notably brandished the collection of poetry written by the young man, as a symbol of his integration.
The collective is also mobilized alongside Kélé's lawyer to have the OQTF canceled. “He (the lawyer, Editor’s note) himself explained that this is the first time that he has made a detailed request of 38 pages, with 270 testimonies of the integration of Kélé,” explains Armand Reus, member of the collective support.
The court must make its decision by next month. But in the event of refusal, Kélé is already ready to appeal.
Marie-Lys Pariot, Jade Lagnier with Laurène Rocheteau
