British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s father, Stanley Johnson, has secured French citizenship.
The French justice ministry instructed the AFP information company he obtained French nationality on Wednesday, including “this determination considerations solely Mr. Stanley Johnson and doesn’t prolong to his descendants.”
Talking in French in an interview with BFM TV, the 81-year-old mentioned he was “very joyful,” and getting citizenship allowed him to “declare a part of my identification.”
He filed his citizenship software on the French consulate in London final November.
“I will at all times be European, that is for positive,” Stanley Johnson instructed RTL radio in December 2020, including, “It is not a query of turning into French. If I understood appropriately, I’m French.”
Stanley Johnson and Brexit
Stanley Johnson was a member of the European parliament, labored for the European Fee, and voted to stay within the European Union throughout the 2016 Brexit referendum, whereas his son Boris led the depart motion.
He utilized for French citizenship in December 2020 earlier than the UK left the European Union.
He has since mentioned he was improper about Brexit, writing within the Every day Telegraph that Ukraine made him rethink his place due to the “the naivety of our European neighbors of their dealing with this disaster.”
In accordance with the EU statistics company, Eurostat, round 3,100 British folks acquired French nationality in 2020, making France the second hottest alternative for Britons after Germany.
Johnson’s mom was born in France, and he was additionally understood to have made a declaration of French nationality, Le Figaro reported.
British folks don’t have to surrender their UK nationality when turning into French residents.
AFP contributed to this report