The Council of Foreign Residents (CRE)

Why a Council of Foreign Residents?

The City of Strasbourg has a vast range of populations of different nationalities participating in the economic, social and cultural life of the city. However, foreign residents (from outside the European Union) do not have the opportunity to express themselves in an electoral framework. To fight against this inequality and give a voice to all Strasbourg inhabitants, the Strasbourg Municipal Council voted on 22 June 2015 to set up the Council of Foreign Residents (CRE).

The goals of the CRE are:

• Promote an intercultural society
• Fight for equal rights and against discrimination
• Continue to fight for the right to vote and election eligibility for foreigners

How does it work?

The CRE is made up of inhabitants drawn by lots among volunteers and association representatives. All CRE members are volunteers.

The Council of Foreign Residents develops its own work program which is broken down into project groups. Each group carries out actions and produces contributions that are sent to the appropriate elected representatives on the topics concerned.

Some completed projects

• Report on the aging of immigrant workers at the request of the Mayor of Strasbourg
• Photographic exhibitions "A city of faces" and “Citizens from Elsewhere" which were on display in the media library, community centers and schools
• At the initiative of the Strasbourg CRE, the first network of CRE councils was set up in France and is called: the French Residency Citizenship Council