In the 1980s, migration control policies at the external borders of Europe became increasingly strict, especially following the Schengen Agreements. These policies aimed to combat so-called “irregular” immigration, perceived as a threat to the member states of the Schengen Area. Among the restrictive measures were the widespread requirement for visas and pressure on transport companies to check their passengers.
In 1987, in response to these new realities, several trade unions (including the Syndicat unitaire des navigants commerciaux, Syndicat des personnels de l’aviation civile, and the Confédération française démocratique du travail—covering Air France, UTA, AdP, Police, Customs, OFPRA, and MAE) and human rights organizations (such as Amnesty International, France terre d’asile, the Movement Against Racism and for Friendship Between Peoples, Cimade, the Council of Immigrant Associations in France, the Human Rights League, GISTI, and Groupe accueil solidarité) observed that each week, several individuals were denied entry into France at its borders. Many had to wait in international zones for hours or even days, without contact with the outside world and without access to sufficient, healthy food or adequate hygiene conditions.
These organizations called for the creation of a legal framework for these transit zones, to establish legal safeguards and avenues for appeal for those being held. This network, initially called the “Airport Collective,” became Anafé in December 1989. Its mission: to ensure an active and competent presence in the international zones of airports.
In 1992, following convictions by national courts and the European Court of Human Rights for illegally detaining individuals in inhumane conditions, the French government passed the Quilès Law, establishing the legal framework for the “waiting zone.” The emergence of the concept of “migration risk” led to an increase in border detentions and a deterioration in detention conditions.
Since the late 1980s, Anafé has achieved several significant victories, such as:
- Judicial oversight in waiting zones
- The introduction of emergency legal procedures (référé liberté)
- Access for associations to waiting zones
- The suspensive effect of appeals against rejected asylum entry requests
Anafé then intensified its efforts to gain access to detention areas and to support the individuals held there. The first visitor cards were issued to Anafé and several partner organizations in 1995. In 2004, Anafé signed its first agreement with the Ministry of the Interior, granting permanent access to the waiting zone at Roissy Airport.
Since the 2010s, Anafé has had to adapt its missions and expand its scope to include internal borders within the Schengen Area, particularly France’s internal land borders. In response to the consequences of reintroduced border controls—especially the deprivation of liberty outside any legal framework—Anafé has been active since 2015 alongside local actors and exiled individuals facing difficulties at the lower Franco-Italian border. In 2019, Anafé extended its project to the Basque and Catalan Franco-Spanish borders.
In 2023, Anafé revised its mission statement to affirm its opposition to all forms of administrative detention at borders and to any other form of migration criminalization. Anafé’s work at borders continues despite increasing pressure from authorities and administrations, which undermine the right of associations to access these areas and criminalize acts of solidarity. Anafé has developed both operational and political approaches to its mission. (For more information, click here.)
