'Detention is morally exhausting': melancholia of detention centres in France

How are ethics articulated in the organization of migrants' detention in France? While state agents enjoy discretionary power, it is the third sector that claims legal knowledge and good practice, exposing an unresisting and reverent attitude towards the 'rule of law'. This legalistic gaze on the state attests to the impasse in questioning (the moral grounds of) laws and flaunting intense emotions on a daily basis, an expression of their moral dilemma. In doing so, police officers, legal practitioners and other service providers display contrasting ideological disapproval but practical compliance, creating an environment infused with melancholy. Melancholy enables them to be humble operators of state rules and regulations and, at the same time, to suffer endless (moral and emotional) pain. This article analyses inter-organizational and inter-personal affective experiences in order to demonstrate how melancholy reflects the morale that is manifest in the organization of migrants' detention.