In the hall of the Gironde prefecture, Ukrainian families are waiting to be called to the counter to receive their “temporary protection” title, a financial allowance and report to Pôle emploi: this original “three-in-one” system was presented this Tuesday in Bordeaux.
It will make it possible to register the approximately 11,000 displaced persons expected shortly in New Aquitaine, explained the prefect Fabienne Buccio.
18,000 accommodation places with individuals identified
About forty titles were issued in Gironde and some 600 people were registered to receive them. The device is now ready to distribute 200 titles per week, she added.
“So far, we have had slow arrivals but we are preparing to welcome 11,000 people to New Aquitaine in the coming month,” she said. 18,000 private accommodation places have been identified in the region, of which nearly a quarter in Gironde. “We will not touch the places reserved for asylum seekers or emergency accommodation for precarious people,” she assured.
On their arrival by coach, these Ukrainians will first be directed to “hubs” of around 200 places in Bordeaux, Poitiers and Limoges. A maximum of forty-eight hours later, they will be distributed in about thirty “airlocks” of about 50 places, “boarding schools or holiday centers” for example, distributed in the 12 departments of the region. Then a week later, they will put their suitcases in accommodation offered by individuals and institutions, via the France Horizon association.
700 euros per month for a family of two adults and two children
Since Monday, the prefecture “reserves every afternoon of the week” for the registration of displaced persons who have already arrived, often by their own means, according to the prefect. The vast majority are women with children and the elderly.
They are first issued with their “provisional residence permit”, renewable every six months for three years, which gives them the right to social security and work. At the next counter, they are given, via a “payment card”, an allowance, like asylum seekers. Or “about 700 euros per month for a family of two adults and two children”, according to Fabienne Buccio.
Finally, a Pôle Emploi office provides them with advice and information. “They are about 30% to show an immediate interest in working,” according to the prefect. Despite the language barrier, “the medical sector is very interested”.