Without proper documentation they can’t participate fully in French society, but often they have nowhere else to go.

Their stories contain one common link – the hope that citizenship will secure the achievements and personal connections which they have worked for years to construct.

This student is in the final year of her Master’s program. She only needs an internship to complete her degree, but she can’t find an internship because she is an illegal alien.

This Moroccan man is an illegal alien who doesn’t have the right to work. But he has lived in France for 8 years, has a daughter enrolled in school and a wife with proper immigration papers.

France’s worst treatment is reserved for undocumented Roma, as the Hollande administration has not stopped the Sarkozy era’s practice of deportations and destroying their homes.

France’s immigrants are tired of being told by supposedly supportive politicians that the time just isn’t right to push for better treatment. But if this segment of society has lost faith in the new Socialist government, polls show that, in this respect, they are typically French.