More than 300 foreign nationals who were on the “
front line
” during the coronavirus epidemic and “
showed their attachment to the nation
” will be naturalized French, Marlène Schiappa's entourage told AFP on Thursday November 5th.
In mid-September, the Minister Delegate for Citizenship at the Ministry of the Interior had instructed the prefects to “
accelerate
” and “
facilitate
” this access to French nationality for people who had “
actively contributed
” to the fight against Covid-19.
Read also: Covid-19: is this second wave worse than the first?
In more than a month, 626 requests were recorded by the prefectures for this reason, on which "
334 naturalizations are to come
", including "
21 already made
", we detail in the cabinet of Marlène Schiappa, in particular in charge of refugee and integration issues.
“
As I have committed to, we are accelerating the naturalization of foreign workers engaged on the front line during the first confinement.
These people worked in hospitals, businesses, or looked after children, they showed their attachment to the nation, a will, and made a considerable effort which allowed the country to continue to function
”, underlined Ms. Schiappa.
Read also: Covid-19: Have hospitals recruited enough caregivers?
The instruction sent to the prefects allows them in particular to use the concept of “
services rendered important
” to reduce the duration of the internship to two years instead of five, that is to say the minimum length of residence in France required.
In 2019, more than 112,000 people acquired French nationality, including more than 48,000 by naturalization, a procedure in sharp decline (-10%) compared to the previous year.
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