They are around 100,000, including 20,000 children schooled in French establishments: a year after the outbreak of the war, the number of refugees having fled Ukraine to settle in France has stabilized, despite a wave of returns . At the end of 2022, France recorded 65,833 temporary residence permits issued to Ukrainians (excluding minors), under “temporary protection”, the exceptional regime granted by Europeans to people fleeing this conflict, initiated on February 24.
To estimate their total number, including children, the authorities also observe the people covered by the asylum seeker allowance (ADA) they receive: 109,000 people were concerned at the end of October, the Director General for Foreigners said in January. in France (DGEF) Éric Jalon, during the presentation of immigration statistics.
“We were able to measure in October the renewals” of provisional residence permits issued for six months renewable, “which allows us to see both that there is a continuation of arrivals and also of permits that are not renewed and therefore departures, ”added Éric Jalon. Last October, the French Office for Immigration and Integration (Ofii) estimated at 10,000 the number of displaced Ukrainians who had left France, in particular according to deactivated allowance cards. 90% of Ukrainian refugees are women and children, with men between the ages of 18 and 60 not having the right to leave the country.
The European Union decided, a week after the start of the conflict, to activate the temporary protection mechanism for Ukrainian refugees, for the first time since its creation in 2001. It allows them to settle in a regular situation without need to apply for refugee status, to send children to school, to have their medical care taken care of or to work without delay. Ukrainians thus obtain a residence permit for six months, renewable for up to three years.
Even if they do not apply for refugee status, they benefit from the asylum seeker’s allowance, of a maximum amount of 14 euros per day: in October, the Ofii estimated this aid at 27 million euros per month. They also benefit from support in emergency accommodation and accommodation assistance. Temporary protection is meant to apply also to people of other nationalities fleeing the conflict but who did not have refugee status in Ukraine and who “cannot return in a safe and durable manner” to their country.
Nearly 20,800 Ukrainian students were welcomed in French schools, colleges and high schools on February 7, the Ministry of National Education told AFP, a level up very slightly since the end of the previous school year. In detail, 53% of them are in school (nursery and elementary), i.e. 11,021 children, 34% in college (7,070) and 13% in high school (2,703).
The government had promised financial assistance “from November” for French households hosting Ukrainian refugees. To date, “893 households have received financial support for a total amount of 786,285 euros,” the housing ministry told AFP. Or 880 euros per household on average, without knowing the number of months covered by this sum. A total of 926 grants were accepted out of 5,016 applications, which “continue to be filed”.
