The government measures taken to deal with the spread of SARS-CoV-2 raise questions about the treatment received by migrant populations in France: suspension of asylum application procedures; closure of the reception of persons benefiting from international protection; postponement of interviews of asylum seekers by Ofpra; and at the same time, maintenance of the obligation to report to police stations for asylum seekers who are subject to deportation procedures (Agier et al. 2020). While many services and associations intended to help migrant people closed down during the confinement, or reduced their services by providing a telephone hotline and some visits (Desgrées du Loû 2020), we assume that people’s vulnerabilities increased during the Covid-19 crisis.

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This research aims to reveal the structural dysfunctions of the reception and support system for migrant people in France, and their possible intensification following emergency measures decreed by the authorities. We propose to carry out a critical analysis of the modalities of care of migrant populations, and of the governmental measures decreed since the beginning of the pandemic, their applications and their effects on the field. We propose to analyse a moment of tension, induced by the management of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, in order to co-construct with the actors met in the Montpellier region new reflections on the ways of acting within this care system.

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Keywords: Migrant population - reception and support structures - vulnerabilities – participative methods – Montpellier (France)