Non-EU foreigners are unable to access 5.4 million jobs in France.

Key Points

• Over 5.4 million job opportunities in France, spanning both public and private sectors, are restricted to non-European Union (EU) foreigners.
• Certain public sector positions, including roles in state administrations, the military, local authorities, hospitals, and the Bank of France, are inaccessible to foreign workers.
• Non-EU foreigners may be eligible for specific roles in the private sector if they hold French diplomas or attain equivalent qualifications.

Detailed Overview:

The Observatory of Inequalities has reported that more than 5.4 million job positions in France are unavailable to non-European foreigners due to diploma requirements and authorization procedures.

The majority of these jobs, totaling 4.1 million, are within the public service sector, with over a million positions in the private sector.

In the public sector, European legislation stipulates that civil service competitions must be open exclusively to citizens of EU member states, thus excluding non-European foreigners from opportunities such as teaching positions.

However, non-European foreigners can engage in certain roles as contractors, primarily as non-permanent workers. Only two categories of civil service positions—hospital doctors and university teacher-researchers—totaling 140,000 jobs, are accessible to all foreigners.

Despite some progress, many "sovereignty" jobs, including defense, taxation, police, and diplomacy roles, remain closed to foreigners, even those from European countries.

Several institutions have eliminated nationality requirements for recruitment, including RATP, EDF-GDF, and Air France, offering employment opportunities to foreign applicants.

In the private sector, specific occupations such as those in the medical and legal fields are restricted to individuals with recognized French diplomas. However, foreigners with French diplomas or equivalent qualifications can practice these professions.

Professions inaccessible to non-EU foreigners in the private sector include tobacco retailers, security agency directors, notaries, Merchant Navy officers, court bailiffs, and judicial administrators.

However, non-EU nationals with French diplomas can work in professions such as nursing, medical laboratory technology, optometry, speech therapy, and podiatry.

Certain professions, including doctors, pharmacists, lawyers, and architects, require prior authorization for practice, irrespective of nationality.