French State Ordered to Pay €1,200 to Influencer Doualemn Following OQTF Annulment

BY: Dr. Hana Saada

Algiers, Algeria | February 7th, 2025 — In a landmark decision, the Administrative Court of Melun has annulled the Obligation to Leave French Territory (OQTF) issued against Algerian-born influencer Doualemn, ordering the French state to compensate him with €1,200 for legal costs. This ruling, delivered on Thursday, February 6, raises serious questions about the legal competency of Bruno Retailleau, the controversial French Minister of the Interior, whose handling of the case has been widely criticized.

Judicial Vindication and Legal Redress

According to Le Parisien, the court not only ruled in favor of Doualemn, authorizing his release from administrative detention, but also instructed the prefectural authorities to re-examine his residency status within three months and to grant him a temporary residence permit for the duration of this review. The €1,200 compensation, mandated under Article L761-1 of the French Code of Administrative Justice, covers the legal expenses Doualemn incurred to challenge his expulsion.

This decision highlights a serious procedural failure within the Ministry of the Interior, exposing Retailleau’s misjudgment in handling a case that has sparked both political and legal controversy. The court’s ruling effectively invalidates the arbitrary withdrawal of Doualemn’s residency permit by the Prefect of Hérault, which had been justified on the grounds of a controversial video the influencer posted online.

A Politically Charged Expulsion

Doualemn, a 59-year-old social media figure with 168,000 followers on TikTok, became the center of a diplomatic and legal storm after his residency permit was revoked in early January. The Prefect of Hérault, acting under directives from the Ministry of the Interior, had not only stripped him of his legal status but also ordered his detention at the Administrative Retention Center of Nîmes.

Despite being released from police custody with a scheduled court appearance, French authorities forcibly placed Doualemn on a flight to Algeria on January 9, executing his deportation in a manner now deemed legally unsound. The administrative court’s ruling thus marks a significant rebuke of the government’s overreach and reinforces concerns about France’s tightening immigration policies under Retailleau’s leadership.

The annulment of Doualemn’s OQTF and the financial compensation order further discredit Bruno Retailleau, whose tenure as Minister of the Interior has been marked by controversial and legally questionable immigration decisions.

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