Endless Counter: to submit your application, start by proving you’ve already submitted it

Caught between instances and insistence, the modern user discovers a simple rule: any document exists only if accompanied by its proof of existence.
In the lobby, Reception sends you to Pre-Reception, which requires a stamped proof of reception from… Reception.

At 8:03 a.m., the ticket machine flashes “Out of service — by appointment” while the adjacent sign reads “Appointments suspended — without ticket.” The glass door opens onto a looping corridor numbered A-B-C, where Room C explains that you only proceed to A after going through B, and B accepts only those already validated in A. A QR code stuck behind the glass leads to a form to print in order to gain access to the online form. Finally, a smiling agent confirms that counter no. 0 handles emergencies… only after the deadline.

The paperwork ordeal turns into non-Euclidean geometry: to get the Certificate of Concordance, you need the Certificate of Conforming Identity, issued in exchange for the Certificate of Concordance. The “color photocopy in black and white” is required in the original format, signed with your digitally handwritten signature. “It’s not that complicated,” reassures a “flow coordinator” who prefers to remain anonymous. “If it takes time, it’s precisely to go faster.” The break room, renamed the “Orientation Space,” hands out a map advising you to come back yesterday with tomorrow’s documents.

Modernization adds its touch: the portal asks for a scan of the original of the electronic signature applied in blue ink, then rejects the file because it is too faithful. The password must contain an uppercase, a lowercase, a symbol, a hieroglyph, and above all… be different from itself. The hotline sends you to the chatbot, which asks you to upload proof that you cannot upload. While awaiting a way out, good news: the “one-stop shop” finally opens — in the plural, at the other end of the building, on non-holiday Tuesdays that fall on a Monday. You leave without paperwork, but equipped with impeccable compliance with the non-receipt protocol.