Ordinary sanctuary: A concept in action at the French-Italian border

Sanctuary cities have known a strong political and theoretical revival in the last decade. However, the focus on cities and their policies restricts the idea of sanctuary to its urban, legal and – to a certain extent – North American enactments, leaving dispersed and rural forms of sanctuary understudied. In this paper, I examine the sanctuary spaces and practices in the Roya Valley, at the border between Italy and France, and more particularly the journey of its most well-known activist, the farmer Cédric Herrou. Although Herrou’s first actions could be best described as hospitable and humanitarian help towards migrants, they gradually evolved into routinized support for administrative and legal matters. Herrou’s actions led to a decision by the Constitutional Council that strengthened the French constitutional value of fraternity to better distinguish disinterested support from human smuggling motivated by profit. Thus, I explore the conceptual space of sanctuary by analysing the related concepts of solidarity, hospitality and fraternity. I define sanctuary as seeking to shelter citizens and non-citizens from domination exercised in the unfair and illegal enforcement of border controls. I identify functions a sanctuary should fulfil, defining it as a network of practices evolving through time rather than a secluded space. Then, I study the justifications given by Herrou and demonstrate that they are founded on principles of civic vigilance. I argue that this rooted form of vigilance towards the state’s actions is motivated by local republican norms, practices and laws, but also cosmopolitanizes their scope. Herrou’s justifications offer an ordinary picture of solidarity and sanctuary that is more realistic and motivating of political change than the demanding theories of cosmopolitan democracy and radical sanctuary cities.