SOCIETY / Senate: a report to accelerate equal rights for people with disabilities in overseas territories | FAXINFO

September 4, 2025

It is in Saint-Martin, a symbol of difficulties but also of local mobilizations, that the Senator Annick Pétrus chose to officially present to Fatima Boukhari, president of the association Axes and Targets for All, information report on disability in overseas territories.

Fruit of nine months of work in the Senate, this document co-written by the senators Audrey Belim (Reunion), Akli Mellouli (Val-de-Marne) and Annick Pétrus, is the result of 38 auditions and travel in Guadeloupe, Saint-Barthélemy and Saint-Martin. “We worked nine months on this report, hearing from the various autonomy and disability services in all the overseas territories. I wanted us to go to Saint-Martin to experience this reality.”, explains the senator.

Administrative delays and lack of training

Fatima Boukhari's association was also heard during this work. The activist president recounts her experience: "I renew my application every ten years. During the last commission, they sent a notification, but when I presented myself, I was told that it had already been submitted. The expectations are unbearableShe adds: “I had to submit the recognition of disabled worker status, but the delays are too long. Three months is understandable, but two years is unacceptable.".

These testimonies confirm the findings made in the report. In Saint-Martin, the manual processing of files doing heavy delays“Eight or nine months can pass between the submission of the file, its passage through the committee, and the drafting of the notifications,” laments Annick Pétrus. “The law says four months. Everything is done by hand. When they’re finished, they photocopy the files to send them to the CAF and Guadeloupe. The resources aren’t available.”

The senator speaks of “administrative abuse" and calls for the acquisition of suitable digital tools to streamline procedures. Behind these delays, she recalls, "you have people in pain who cannot work, families waiting for benefits.”

Minister Charlotte Parmentier's promises

The report, submitted on July 16 to the Minister Delegate for Disability, Charlotte Parmentier-Lecocq, formula 16 recommendations. Some will be implemented from the start of the school year : transformation of the support offer, reduction of processing times, simplification of procedures“The minister promised us that for certain serious disabilities, such as amputation or Down syndrome, renewal will no longer be required every two years but every ten years,” explains Pétrus.

Beyond the procedures, the report also points out the lack of suitable transport, the lack of accessible infrastructure and difficulties in professional integration. “Many companies would rather pay a fine than employ their quota of workers with disabilities“Even the Collectivité, the CTOS or the CAF do not reach this quota,” regrets the senator.

Fatima Boukhari, whose association has around fifty active members, sees this report as a recognition of fieldwork“We go to people's homes. We do it with perseverance. But now the recommendations need to be translated into everyday life, in terms of employment, housing, and transportation.”

Rigorous monitoring

For Saint-Martin, a strong commitment has been made by the State to establish a shared diagnosis with the communities which will lead to a reciprocal agreement. “This is an important step. We will be fully mobilized to that words are followed by actions”, insists Annick Pétrus.

Vingt ans après the law of February 11, 2005, the senator calls for “don't give up”: “People with disabilities must benefit from the same rights and the same support as everywhere else in France.” _Vx

To view the full report: https://www.senat.fr/rap/r24-821/r24-8211.pdf