Algerian entrepreneur wins French residency case
A French court overturned a deportation order for a 68-year-old Algerian business owner.
An Algerian woman, aged 68, has successfully challenged a deportation order in the administrative court of Melun, France. The prefect of Val-de-Marne had issued an order to leave France within 30 days on March 9, 2026, after refusing to renew her residency permit. The prefecture cited insufficient business revenue, stating her turnover was below the full-time minimum wage.
Her lawyer, Me Fayçal Megherbi, argued that the prefecture wrongly applied income criteria, violating the 1968 Franco-Algerian agreement. This agreement governs residency and professional practice for Algerian nationals. The Melun court agreed, censuring the prefecture's decision and its "error of assessment" regarding her business.
The court cancelled the deportation order and the refusal to renew her permit, ordering the prefecture to re-examine her application within three months. In the interim, she will receive a temporary residency permit with work rights. The French state was also ordered to pay her 1,200 euros in legal costs.
Why it mattersAn Algerian entrepreneur's right to reside and work in France was upheld by a court, preventing her deportation.