France’s Gig-Economy Built On Migrant Labor As 99% Of Surveyed Delivery-Riders Are Foreign-Born, Two-Thirds Are Illegal

Authored by Thomas Brooke via Remix News,

A major new study has found that France’s food delivery sector is almost exclusively staffed by migrant workers, a majority of whom are living in France illegally.

The Enquête report, based on a survey of more than 1,000 riders in Paris and Bordeaux, reveals that 98.7 percent of delivery couriers were born outside France, with nearly two-thirds lacking legal residency status, highlighting the extent to which the platform economy depends on a highly vulnerable migrant labor force.

The workforce is dominated by recent arrivals from Africa, the majority of whom are not undertaking any other education or training in France.

A total of 55.2 percent of riders come from West Africa, making it by far the largest group. A further 17.4 percent are from North Africa, while 4.6 percent come from other African countries, meaning that over 77 percent of all riders are African-born. By comparison, 16.6 percent are from Asia, 4 percent from the Middle East, and fewer than 2 percent from France.

Most riders are new or relatively new arrivals. Some 98 percent of those surveyed had arrived in France after 2014, while 47.2 percent had arrived in the last five years.

« Ubérisation » et immigration clandestine

La quasi-totalité des livreurs de repas pour des plateformes numériques sont des immigrés récents.

Deux tiers des livreurs sont en situation irrégulière.

Les faits à retenir d’une étude inédite pic.twitter.com/0U9r3VoC56

— Observatoire de l’immigration et de la démographie (@ObservatoireID) April 2, 2026

The vast majority do not have the right to work in France and are living there illegally — 64.4 percent of riders have no residence permit, meaning they are undocumented. Among the remainder, 12.4 percent hold a residence permit of at least one year, 9.7 percent have a permit of less than one year, and 13.3 percent have a 10-year residency card.

Many operate using accounts rented from third parties to circumvent work requirements, creating an additional layer of economic dependency.

The findings suggest that this structure helps explain the extreme working patterns documented in the report. Riders work an average of 63 hours per week, with most working six or seven days, often year-round. Despite this, average gross earnings were just €1,480 per month, with hourly pay equivalent to €5.83 before expenses.

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