124 people woke up as foreigners and will fall asleep as French citizens. 124 people of different nationalities who fought for years, sometimes their entire lives, to obtain this nationality. 124 have been naturalized, 115 through the standard process and 9 through marriage.
23 municipalities, residences of these 124 new French citizens, were represented:
Antibes-Juan-les-Pins, Auribeau-sur-Siagne, Beausoleil, Cagnes-sur-Mer, Cannes, Carros, Menton, Mouans-Sartoux, Mougins, Nice, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, Saint-Sauveur-sur-Tinée, Valbonne, Vallauris, Vence, Villeneuve-Loubet.
Just after a speech on citizenship and what it means to be French, followed by a film and “La Marseillaise” in a packed Prefecture Palace, the future French citizens stepped forward one by one in front of everyone else as if to receive a diploma, with a lot of emotion—a powerful and solemn moment that some shared with their families.
A photo, a hug, kisses, then a few tears—all this unfolds within the Palace with a rather magical atmosphere.
Even the elected officials sometimes get caught up in the prevailing emotion. This type of ceremony takes place every month in different locations, but it’s true that right now, with the particular situation we are living through, and especially with the migrants, these events have an even more significant symbolic importance.
They have a story, a culture, a different experience, but all have chosen to become French.
With the conflicts we know today around the migration issue, it’s always good to remind ourselves: “Fraternity is not a legal obligation; it is a civic duty.”
