"I thought it happened to others": Moroccan artist Meryem Aboulouafa placed under OQTF

These are two worlds colliding. On June 23, in Sens, in the Yonne department, Meryem Aboulouafa, 36, was already preparing for her return to school, the release of Family , her second album, then scheduled for September 26, the cover art, the promotion, the tour, a first date in Marseille, while waiting for another at the Arab World Institute at the end of the year. That day, an email from the Digital Administration for Foreigners in France landed in her inbox. A simple formality, she thought, before discovering the complete opposite: non-renewal of her residence permit, accompanied by an obligation to leave the territory (OQTF), within thirty days... Denial, then total incomprehension, then distress. Without waiting, she filed an appeal. "You have your house, your belongings, your vehicle, your professional commitments and in thirty days, you will have to organize yourself to leave, " she summarizes . Where would you start?"

Two months later, she welcomes us into a small house in Colombes, in the Hauts-de-Seine region, where she continues to prepare for the Marseille concert, still scheduled for September 18. The album release, however, has been postponed until December. Gray sweatshirt, tenacious smile, and a somewhat tired expression from the summer of worries. "Everything is on hold, " she assures, " with no answers for what comes next." She is torn. Between the desire to tell, the confusion, the discomfort, the dismay, the arbitrariness, and a certain fear, that of