France Signals Citizenship Crackdown

France Signals Citizenship Crackdown
France plans to restrict citizenship pathways as public sentiment shifts.|©iStock/xbrchx

As cartoon skunk Pepe Le Pew would have said, “sacré bleu!”

Last week, the French Interior Minister, Bruno Retailleau, announced that people applying for French citizenship are to face tougher scrutiny, including being examined for “exemplary behavior” and “financial autonomy.” They also need to speak French like a native.

Technically, nothing is changing. Minister Retailleau circulated a five-page set of instructions reminding departmental and regional prefectures that they should follow the legal framework for naturalization as strictly as possible.

The Minister wants people to take notice. He introduced the matter at a public speech, saying, “becoming French is something that you need to have deserved, we must be very, very demanding.” He went on to say, “no one can expect to gain citizenship without being assimilated,” defining the latter as “the feeling of belonging” in France.

The Minister hinted at his motivations when he emphasized the importance of respecting “French traditions of the secular state.” I interpret this as a shot across the bow of the National Rally, an anti-immigrant party that won nearly 42% of the presidential vote in 2022. One of the NR’s criticisms of current policy is that it allows too many relatives of French Muslims to settle in the country

The next election is in May 2027. Although President Emmanuel Macron cannot serve another term, his centrist coalition is concerned about the rising popularity of Jordan Bardella, the young and charismatic new leader of the NR. Making noises about “Frenchness” makes sense in that context.

This marks the third time in just a few weeks that a European country has hinted at or taken steps to limit access to citizenship.

Italy was the first, dramatically restricting its ancestral citizenship program, effectively limiting it to grandchildren of Italian citizens, and even then, requiring substantial time in country. Then Portugal’s Conservative ruling coalition announced its intention to extend the time required for naturalization and also require more time in the country.

This trend can’t be written off as a natural element of the electoral cycle. The last 36 months have seen an accelerating trend away from the openness to immigration that characterized Europe in the aftermath of the global financial crisis of 2008. On one hand, countries like Portugal and Spain have reaped the benefits they wanted from golden visas and have tightened or ended them. On the other hand, the wave of nationalism and nativism that began in the mid-2010s is causing alarm in many EU capitals.

People hoping to live in Europe as retirees or digital nomads shouldn’t be overly concerned about this, as there is no talk of shutting these kinds of visa programs down. But it’s clear that the pathway to long-term permanent residency or citizenship is becoming more difficult to navigate.

As I’ve said several times recently, if a second passport in Europe is part of your plans, it’s a good idea to act soon.

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