A/HRC/7/23/Add.2 page 18 greater job security. A Muslim woman in a Marseilles suburb stated that despite being at the top of her class in her university law studies, she had subsequently been unable to obtain an internship position with a legal firm, whereas all of her white peers had obtained and completed their internships. She fears that her failure to secure an internship, a requirement for certification, will prevent her from becoming a lawyer. 58. In 2004, a French employment agency answered 258 job advertisements for senior salespeople and managers by sending a total of 1,806 fictitious résumés.14 Almost 30 per cent of white French men and 26 per cent of white French women received positive responses. But when the résumés were changed to have Arab-sounding names, the positive response rate dropped to only 5 per cent. A community member of Algerian origin talked with the independent expert about her difficulty in finding work in Marseilles and stated: “I am of Algerian origin, but I am very white. I can get in the door, but when they hear my name is Fatima the excuses come.” 59. The independent expert welcomes initiatives proposed by the Minister of Justice, Ms. Rachida Dati, one of three recently appointed female ministers from minority backgrounds, who in July 2007 instructed all Attorney Generals in France to appoint to their offices dedicated staff with the specific assignment to prosecute discrimination. 60. Ordinance No. 2005-901 of 2 August 2005 established the “PACTE” (The Pathway to Civil Service Careers) as an alternative means of entry to low-level regional, hospital and State civil service posts rather than via the standard competitive examination processes, with the aim of making the civil service more representative.15 However, the programme only targets entry into the lowest level jobs and is limited to two-year contracts. In addition, the independent expert was informed by senior police commissioners of programmes, including the Cadets of the Republic Programme, which have been established to assist young people from all sectors of society in entering the police force. While anecdotally noting its success, police commissioners were unable to provide figures relating to the results in promoting diversity because identifying the graduates of the programme by ethnicity or minority status would be committing an offence under criminal law. 14 The Adia employment agency worked with French sociologist Jean-Francois Amadieu to complete the study on discrimination in recruitment practices and published its report in May 2004, Enquête « Testing » sur CV-Adia/ Paris I- Observatoire des discriminations. http://cergors.univ-paris1.fr/docsatelecharger/pr%E9sentation%20du%20testing%20mai %202004.pdf. 15 The Government states that the aim of PACTE is to make the civil service more representative of the society it serves, by trying to curb discrimination and exclusion. PACTE is open to those between 16 and 25 with no qualifications, and is a contract governed by public law lasting between one and two years and offering training and work experience in “Category C” posts, including maintenance, clerical and secretarial positions. It provides access to civil-servant status after an aptitude test.