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Not everyone is happy about George Clooney and his family becoming French citizens. The recent news of Clooney, his wife Amal and their children being granted French citizenship sparked criticism from Marie-Pierre Vedrenne, a junior deputy to the interior minister, who argued in a radio interview on Franceinfo that it raised an “issue of fairness.”
Vedrenne suggested that Clooney had been granted French citizenship due to his fame rather than on merit, and she argued “this is not the right message to send.” She also said she felt that it showed some “double standards” and added that she will verify “the entire procedure,” according to Le Monde newspaper. But shortly after Vedrenne’s comments, the interior minister Laurent Nuñez fought back the accusations of Vedrenne — with whom he works closely — saying that Clooney and his wife Amal were naturalized “by decree,” from a “decision of the public authority.” Nunez also said Clooney’s naturalization was “a great chance for our country.”
The ministry of foreign affairs also reacted to the bashing over Clooney, arguing that the government “followed a rigorous procedure ranging from security checks to regulatory naturalization interviews at the prefecture, including the payment of tax stamps.”
“Like many French people, we are delighted to welcome George and Amal Clooney to the national community,” said the ministry, who cited the civic code which allows “any foreigner … who contributes through their distinguished actions to the influence of France and the prosperity of its international economic relations” to gain access to French citizenship.
Clooney, who lives in Brignoles in the South of France with his family, recently joked while promoting Netflix’s “Jay Kelly” on the local pay TV channel Canal+ that his French was “horrible.” He said his wife and kids, meanwhile, speak French fluently. “They speak French in front of me so that they can say terrible things about me to my face, and I don’t know,” he said. Clooney previously told the French radio RTL in an interview in December, “I love the French culture, your language, even if I’m still bad at it after 400 days of courses.”
U.S. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, took the opportunity to mock Clooney after the news of his citizenship. “Good News! George and Amal Clooney, two of the worst political prognosticators of all time, have officially become citizens of France which is, sadly, in the midst of a major crime problem because of their absolutely horrendous handling of immigration,” Trump said on Truth Social.
However, Clooney is already in the midst of contributing to the French entertainment industry by filming a cameo in the “Call My Agent!” movie spinoff, which is produced by Mediawan for Netflix.
