Under the name Sans-Papiers, people without valid residence papers have been organizing in France for over ten years. At the same time, as the definition of illegality expands and tightens within the European Union, irregular migrants are gaining political significance as actors. As this study on the Greater Paris area makes clear, this is possible because they appropriate the discourse of "Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité": Sans-Papiers speak in their own name, participate in the social game of France through protest, media, and negotiation, and form alarm and safety networks within their own collectives. In doing so, they demonstrate how agency begins even with empty words and highlight that democracy cannot become illegal.