The French citizenship speedily granted to Hollywood star George Clooney and his family despite his confessed poor level of French suggests a “double standard” available only to the global elites, a government minister said Wednesday.
As Breitbart News reported,George Clooney, his wife, British-Lebanese lawyer Amal Alamuddin Clooney, alongside twin children Ella and Alexander were all granted French citizenship in December as per the contents of a naturalization decree published by the Official Journal of the French Republic on Saturday, December 27.
This allows “a French-speaking foreigner who contributes through his or her outstanding work to the influence of France and the prosperity of its international economic relations” to become a citizen through a request from the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
Clooney was awarded French citizenship following that process, according to an official document seen by POLITICO.
In a letter dated Oct. 20 sent to France’s interior minister, Laurent Nuñez, who handles citizenship procedures, Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noël Barrot proposed the Hollywood star, his wife Amal and their children be granted citizenship through the so-called “citoyen émérite” process.
The granting of citizenship came ahead of language requirements being toughened for everyone else under new immigration rules from January 1.
“Personally, I understand the feeling of some French people of a double standard,” Marie-Pierre Vedrenne, a junior interior minister, told the France Info radio station per AFP.
He expressed misgivings that some of the Clooneys’ new French compatriots may think that the star couple was granted special treatment.
“We need to be careful about the message we’re sending.”
The 64-year-old Oscar-winner has admitted his French remains poor despite lessons and hours of practise.
Under the new immigration rules from Thursday, applicants will need a certificate showing they have a level of French that could get them into a French university. They also have to pass a civic knowledge test.
Clooney has a property in southern France and has hailed French privacy laws that keep his family largely protected from international media intrusion.
“I love the French culture, your language, even if I’m still bad at it after 400 days of courses,” the actor told RTL radio – in English – in December.
His wife, an international human rights lawyer and dual UK-Lebanese national, speaks fluent French.
Clooney is not alone in wanting a French passport.
Hollywood director Jim Jarmusch announced on Friday he was also applying, telling French radio that he wanted “a place to where I can escape the United States”.
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