“The CAI is good for others” : The injunction to integrate from the point of view of signatories of the hosting and integration contract (CAI)

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This contribution concerns itself with the way in which foreigners perceive the legal constraint that constitutes, in France, the signature of the hosting and integration contract. The purpose of this article is to show that, contrary to its formal objectives, the CAI is not perceived as being able to contribute to integration but, most often, as an administrative obligation. After first highlighting the way in which integration is conceived in the framework of the hosting and integration contract, we will focus, in the second phase, on the transition to the OFII and on the point in time in which the contract is signed. Finally, we will examine the uses of the CAI: more than learning about the values of the Republic or the French language, those who sign it consider the contract necessary for obtaining a residence permit. They comply with this obligation while considering that “the CAI is good for others” and keeping a certain distance from the device such that, from the point of view of the signatories, the CAI appears mainly as an administrative procedure.