The father of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Stanley, 81, obtained French nationality on Wednesday, we learned Thursday, May 19 from the French Ministry of Justice.
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Conservative like his son Boris, unfavorable to Brexit in 2016 before changing his mind the following year, Stanley Johnson, born in England on August 18, 1940 to a French mother, had applied for French nationality from the Consul General of France in Londres le 18 novembre 2021. «
Compte tenu des éléments du dossier, et en l'absence de décision de refus du ministre de la Justice, Stanley Johnson a acquis la nationalité française le 18 mai 2022, à l'expiration des délais prévus par le Civil Code,
“said the chancellery on Thursday, contacted by AFP.
“
This declaration has effect only with respect to Stanley Johnson and does not extend to his descendants
,” the ministry said.
“Claim what I already have”
The French consul in London will “
personally
” give Stanley Johnson his title of nationality.
"
I will always be European, that's for sure
", he explained on RTL radio in December 2020. European deputy between 1979 and 1984, he had justified his request for naturalization to keep "
a link
" with the European Union as his country cast off the moorings with the EU.
“
It's not a question of becoming French.
If I understood correctly, I am French.
My mother was born in France, her mother was entirely French and her grandfather too.
So for me, it's a matter of claiming what I already have
,” he said.
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French people by descent can no longer claim this nationality when their family (the ascendants) has remained settled abroad for more than 50 years without having exercised the rights linked to nationality, according to French law.
This is a loss of nationality through "
disuse
".
But another article of the Civil Code allows these people to regain French nationality by simple declaration, subject to justifying "
manifest cultural, professional, economic or family ties
" with France or having fought for it.
It was on the basis of this article that Stanley Johnson signed a declaration of French nationality.
