It was early afternoon when Jean-Paul* finished his first deliveries of the day. The tall, young man parked his bike in front of the colorful storefront situated at 210 rue Saint-Denis, in the heart of Paris. He felt at home as soon as he walked through the door.

The place was welcoming: velvet sofas and armchairs were set out on the ground floor. A "kitchen" area was set up with dishes, two microwaves, and hot drinks, with a phone charging station on the opposite side. A huge poster of the former undocumented bicycle courier Abou Sangaré, who won a César Award this year for his role in the film "Souleymane’s Story", hung on one of the walls. The first floor, a more sober space, was used for medical consultations.

The Maison des Coursiers has been here since the beginning of March, after more than three years in the 18th arrondissement. Managed by the CoopCycle association, a federation of bike logistics messengers, and subsidized by the Paris City Hall, the site welcomes delivery workers employed by platforms such as Uber Eats and Deliveroo four afternoons a week**.

Three employees welcome between 20 and 30 people every day. Most of the couriers are from West Africa, and many of them are undocumented. If the Maison des Coursiers was empty one March afternoon when it opened at 1 pm, the comings and goings were endless by 2 pm, when most clients had already eaten.

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'The worst is being on the street when it's raining'

"I like coming here, especially when it's cold. We can warm up, have a coffee, and go to the bathroom," said Jean-Paul, while concentrating on putting together a small package with pieces of cardboard. The 33-year-old Ivorian awaiting regularization had been working as a delivery worker since he arrived in France in 2019. "We can talk as long as it doesn't ring," he said, pointing to his phone.

His days consist of waiting outside in the weather for an alert on his smartphone informing him of the next delivery. "The worst thing is being on the street when it's raining," he said. Many delivery drivers live far from the center of Paris and don't return home for fear of missing a delivery.

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Providing both respite and a sense of community, the Maison des Coursiers helps couriers facing precarious and isolating working conditions. "I work Monday to Friday, from 11 am to 11 pm, for 40 euros a day," said Jean-Paul. "It's very hard and very tiring, but I have no choice."

The locale isn't just a calm and comforting retreat; it also offers various services to delivery drivers. Jean-Paul came that day to contest a fine which he considered excessive. The coordinator Solène Delorme helped him write his letter and fill out the delivery slip for the registered letter. "The paperwork is complicated," said the young man.

Support that comes in various forms

Over 1,100 delivery workers have benefited from the Maison des Coursiers since September 2021, and some have been coming for several years. Support can come in various forms, and employees perform multiple tasks: assistance with regularization, tax returns, access to housing, social assistance, professional integration, etc. The organization also provides French and computer classes. 

"We also help during conflicts with platforms, and especially 'disconnections’. The term used by platforms means ‘dismissal’, since delivery workers are removed from their jobs overnight, and sometimes for no reason," said Circé Liénart, another coordinator at the Maison des Coursiers.

When certain requests go beyond their level of expertise, members of the association forward the cases to specialized organizations, lawyers, or unions. Like in Ousmane's case, the young African man who had received an Obligation to Leave French Territory (OQTF) the day before. Delorme, the coordinator, reached out to her network. "We'll prepare your legal aid application, but it's the lawyer who will explain everything to you and handle your case," she said to Ousmane.

‘Isolated people with complicated life paths’

The young man later went upstairs for a medical consultation. The nurse Céline Charpentier usually begins by assessing the health of the patients who often haven’t had any contact with the healthcare system for years. The patients are then redirected according to their needs. "We mainly deal with obtaining eligibility for State Medical Aid [AME], and referrals to healthcare centers. We also see people who were injured during a delivery and don’t know what to do," the nurse said.

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"These are isolated people with very complicated life paths. Being a delivery worker doesn't help. They worry about having a bike accident, or having their account disconnected, while not knowing how much they'll earn at the end of the day. Many live in very precarious situations: in squats, on the streets, in shared lodging... All of this has a real impact on the physical and mental health of delivery drivers," said Charpentier.

After resting for an hour at the Maison des Coursiers, Ousmane and Jean-Paul hop on their bikes and set off once again, to pedal through the streets of Paris. They spend hours covering long distances for deliveries that will earn them only earn a few euros. "Here we go again... Working more to earn less," said Jean-Paul, in reference to former French president Nicolas Sarkozy's famous slogan, "work more to earn more."

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*The name has been changed.

**The Maison des Couriers is open Tuesday to Friday, from 1 pm to 6 pm. Address: 210 rue Saint-Denis, 75002 Paris, Metro: Réaumur-Sébastopol (lines 3 or 4).

Two similar structures have opened in Bordeaux and Grenoble, and other projects are currently being considered in other French cities.