By Swaha Pattanaik
PARIS (Reuters) - A fight by illegal immigrants in Franceto win work permits has moved to new, and unlikely,battlegrounds -- like an upmarket pizzeria in central Paris.
Adama Diabira, a 30-year-old dishwasher, and five otherMalians who got jobs at the restaurant by using false papershave been occupying the premises since they went on strike justover a week ago to demand the right to work legally.
"We work like French people, we pay social security, taxes,everything, but we don't have any rights. If we fall ill, wepay for ourselves as you daren't try to show your papers," saidDiabira, sitting at a table near a pile of blankets.
"We are not louts and I don't see why we should be treatedlike ones or not have our papers legalised."
Diabira is one of some 600 illegal workers in the Parisregion for whom France's largest CGT trade union is trying toobtain work permits. Many of them have jobs in sectors whichface labour shortages.
Despite its reputation for being tough on illegalimmigration, the government appears receptive to their demandsand after an initial meeting with the CGT on Monday a furtherround of talks are set for Wednesday.
"Everyone is on the same page," CGT national secretaryFrancine Blanche said after the Monday negotiations.
Some industry chiefs, especially in the hotel andrestaurant sector, have warned of disaster if they are not ableto give their workers the proper permits.
"We will kill off part of the tourism business," AndreDaguin, head of the French hotel industry association, told RTLradio on Monday, calling on the government to give between50,000 and 100,000 immigrants the right to work in France.
JOINT CAUSE
Just months after President Nicolas Sarkozy came to powerin May 2007, his centre-right government passed a law designedto clamp down on illegal immigration.
However, the dearth of manpower in restaurants, hotels, andconstruction prompted it to introduce some flexibility.
That means that while immigrants have faced more stringentchecks since July 2007, an administrative measure introduced inJanuary allows illegal workers to obtain work permits if theyare employed in sectors struggling to find employees.
Pietro Pesce, the 44-year-old manager of the pizzeria whereDiabira works, is far from overjoyed about having hisrestaurant occupied but says he doesn't want to think aboutwhat would happen if they don't win their fight.
"I hope for us and for them that their situation getssorted out -- if not we will really have a problem on our handsto get the people we need since it takes time to hire and thena minimum of three months to train a cook," he said.
"Working in the kitchen doesn't necessarily interest Frenchpeople because it is very hard work and most of the people whocome looking for work are of African origin."
Yamadou Sissoko, a 31-year-old Malian who came to France in2001 and joined the pizzeria in 2004, is also counting on thestrike paying off.
"It is difficult if you aren't legal since you can't go tothe bank to open an account, you can't get housing and while itis very hard to find a job even if you have papers, it isreally, really difficult if you don't," he said.
(Editing by Charles Dick)