Prime Minister Stanley Johnson’s father has reportedly been granted French citizenship.
French officials have reportedly told AFP that 81-year-old Johnson, whose mother is French, was granted French citizenship on Wednesday.
Johnson, the father of Boris, Rachel, Leo, Joe, Julia and Maximilian, is campaigning for the UK to stay in the EU in 2016 while his son Boris leads the holiday movement. Since then, however, Johnson Sr. has voiced support for Brexit.
He confirmed that he was applying for a French passport on the eve of the British transitional period for Brexit, which expires on 31 December 2020.
Johnson was an MEP 40 years ago and was one of the first UK civil servants to work in Brussels after Britain joined the EU – then the European Economic Community – in 1973. He continued to work for the European Commission.
He joins thousands of Britons who acquired EU citizenship after the Brexit vote. He had previously said: “It is not a question of becoming French. If I understood correctly, I am French. My mother was born in France, her mother was entirely French, as was her grandfather. So it’s up to me to say what I already have. “
He is also recorded as saying: “I will always be a European, that’s for sure. You can’t tell the British “you’re not European.” Europe is more than the single market, it is more than the European Union. However, it is important to have such a connection with the EU.
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Foreigners with French relatives can no longer claim French citizenship when their family has remained abroad for more than 50 years without having exercised their citizenship rights under French law. This is known as loss of citizenship through désuétude or non-use.
However, an article of the French Civil Code allows these people to regain French citizenship by simply declaring it, provided they justify or have fought for “clear cultural, professional, economic or family ties” with France. On this basis, it is understood that Johnson made a declaration of French nationality, writes Le Figaro.
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