European Citizen Initiative in Rennes: “Ensuring Dignified Reception for Refugees and Migrants in Europe"

Summary

Rennes commits to initiate a consultative process to contribute to a pan-European citizen proposal to the European Commission, with the aim to ensure dignified reception for refugees and migrants in Europe.

Rennes is a European city, and its citizens mobilize every day to bring the European project to life and to make it accessible for all its residents, especially those that are at risk of being left behind.  

All these individuals and community groups come together in the “Labo Europe” of the City of Rennes. This Labo aims to renew the citizens’ debate on European policies. The Labo is part of the "Fabrique citoyenne," the city’s platform for citizen participation. 

Among the 12 European Citizens' Initiatives (ECI) that were co-created by about 300 residents of Rennes, the call for dignified reception of refugees and migrants overwhelmingly won the online vote and was submitted to the European Commission as the first-ever ECI proposal drafted by a local government. It is now open to collect signatures across Europe. If this proposal receives 1 million signatures, the European Commission needs to take note of the proposal.   This ECI is the result of collective work initiated by students from Rosa Parks College in Rennes. 

Impact

300 people were involved in the thematic workshops. More than 1,000 people took part in the vote to choose the ECI: citizens aware of European issues and civic participation, as well as residents less familiar with these issues (schoolchildren, residents of working-class neighborhoods). These figures are encouraging and unexpected for a European topic, which usually mobilizes citizens much less than more traditional local democratic issues linked to purely local problems.

The Rennes European Citizens' Initiative is considered a priority issue in Rennes. The ECI has spread across the territory of the City and Metropolis of Rennes, but the aim of gathering a million signatures is to conduct a campaign on the scale of the European Union. A delegation from the City and Metropolis went to Brussels in May 2023 to meet European players (commissioners, parliamentarians, associations, etc.). The delegation was made up of elected representatives, including the Mayor-President of the City and Metropolis, local authority staff and citizens who had actively participated in all phases of the process. They were able to speak directly on behalf of residents to the EU's highest authorities.

The campaign not only raises awareness and encourages debate on the conditions under which migrants are received in Europe, but also demonstrates that citizens can get involved, and that their actions can have a real impact on political decisions taken at a level that seems remote to them. In just over a month, more than 4,000 signatures have already been collected, and the campaign has taken on a national dimension thanks to the support of celebrities and major French associations, bringing the initial commitment of the people of Rennes to a much wider audience.