The Local France’s Editor Emma Pearson was live online on Friday to answer member’s questions on the new rules around French citizenship. You can read her answers in the comments section on this article.
The Local France’s Editor Emma Pearson hosted the live member-only Q&A from 3pm until 4pm on Friday, on the subject of France’s tougher citizenship rules.
Members were able to pose their questions in advance and Emma answered them live. The Q&A has closed but you can view the questions and Emma’s replies below. Just click on “view reply”.
The background to this is the fact that a combination of new laws and a change in the way that applications are processed has made getting French citizenship a lot harder over the last year. Many of our readers have reported being rejected.
The changes themselves are complicated and confusing – some are contained in a new law that applies from January 1st 2026, while others are changes in how applications are dealt with, and have been applied retrospectively since 2025.
We’ll have a follow up article with the answers so feel free to post any more questions you have below and we’ll try and answer them.
Just a reminder that our answers are for general information to help inform you. You may want to consult a lawyer or immigration specialist for specific advice about your own case.
Thanks to all who took part. Email us at news@thelocal.fr if you’d like us to repeat the Q&A for other subjects.
