The Minister of the Interior Bruno Retailleau has just published a new circular devoted to the naturalizations of foreigners who, in form, insists more on the provisions likely to restrict access to French nationality but without upheaval on the merits, according to the document revealed on Sunday by Le Figaro.
Based on a Darmanin law provision, Bruno Retailleau asks the prefects to ensure the strengthening of the level of mastery required in French to obtain naturalization. Ditto for membership of the values of the Republic.
The Minister also lists the elements of assessment demonstrating “the exemplarity of the applicant’s journey”, in particular with regard to a proven irregular stay. The applicant’s autonomy is also underlined. This must result in “professional integration” over five years. A threshold enhanced. The applicant must justify “sufficient and stable resources”, excluding social benefits, insists the document.
This five -page text, to which the Charter of Rights and Duties of the French citizen is annexed, was distributed to all the prefects by the Minister, holding a hard line on immigration and moreover candidate for the presidency of LRs.
An increase in naturalizations in 2024
Bruno Retailleau must present the content on Monday morning during a trip to the Val-de-Marne prefecture in Créteil. He had already revised in January the Valls circular on the conditions of regularization of undocumented foreigners in France.
In this new circular, Bruno Retailleau recalls that “case law establishes naturalization not as a right, but as a sovereign decision of the government”.
In 2024, Acquisitions of French nationality By decree and by declaration (marriage, ascendants and siblings) amounted to 66,745, an increase of 8.3 % compared to 2023, an increase which is explained by a catch -up after a year 2023 marked by technical difficulties, according to the general management of foreigners in France (DGEF) which depends on the Ministry of the Interior.
