French baker wins deportation battle for his apprentice

By Alaattin Dogru

PARIS (AA) – A baker in France won a battle after going on a hunger strike in support of his apprentice from Guinea.

Stephane Ravacley, who has been working as a baker in Besancon for 24 years, had been campaigning for his apprentice Laye Fode Traore, a migrant from Guinea after he faced deportation.

Revacley had been on a hunger strike for 10 days and lost 8 kilos. He was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday, later he met with the authorities of the Haute-Saone region with Traore.

He happily announced on Thursday that Traore will not be deported, granted with a residence permit, and will resume work next Tuesday.

A statement from the Haute-Saone administration also said, newly added documents for Traore were examined and he was allowed to stay in France.

In the statement, it was stated that the decision was made to grant a residence permit to the Guinean apprentice, taking into account the exemplary integration success and professional expectations.

Traore, who came to France via Syria and Italy, started as an apprentice with Ravacley.

After learning Traore will be deported on Jan. 2, after turning 18, Ravacley started a campaign saying it is difficult to find young apprentices to teach the profession and went on a hunger strike 10 days ago.

While more than 220,000 people sign the petition for Ravacley and Traore, famous actors and actresses such as Omar Sy and Marion Cotillard figure called on President Emmanuel Macron to take an initiative to end Ravacley's strike.

*Writing by Busra Nur Bilgic Cakmak