The moment is solemn. And for many emotionally charged. They were fifteen, yesterday, to be given their naturalization booklet in the sub-prefecture of Montluçon. Nine women and six men, originally from fourteen different nationalities. But all now French.
“Today’s ceremony is not a simple administrative formality, it is an essential moment in your life when, without forgetting anything about what you are, you become French”, underlines Jean-Marc Giraud, Deputy prefect.
Jean-Paul Ntwari, former refugee, serving migrants at the Maison des jeunes et de la culture de Montluçon
“The country that welcomed me”
“By becoming French, you become the custodians of a heritage as well as the continuators of a project. And everyone understood it well.
Libretto in hand, François T., from the Congo, seems happy. He recounts his journey: “I arrived in France in 2014 as a refugee. I had my papers in 2016 and I applied for nationality in 2019. ” An essential step for him. “It was very important for me because France is the country that welcomed me. »
In France for many years
A little further, Marina Herrera Mialot came to the reception ceremony in French citizenship with the family. She has lived in France for twenty-seven years now. “I come from the Dominican Republic. I came to France on vacation and I stayed there, ”she explains, revealing a broad smile under her mask. Marina Herrera Mialot first lived in Martinique, then in Guyana… before arriving in the district of Montluçon.
“Becoming French is a chance. »
Marina Herrera Mialot
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And she now has only one hurry: to be able to vote. “That’s the main thing for me! »
It is precisely this right to vote that motivated Judith Pugh. This Briton has lived in Chappes for fifteen years. She was also a city councilor for a time… before Brexit. “From that moment, I no longer had the right to vote, nor to be part of the municipal council. So, it was extremely important for me to become French, to have nationality, to be able to vote again. »
Briton from Allier who became French: “I was already thinking about it before Brexit, but I started the process six months after the referendum”
Photos: Florian Salesse
Text: Laura Morel
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