“Clooney got more publicity for politics than he did for his very few, and totally mediocre, movies. He wasn’t a movie star at all, he was just an average guy who complained, constantly, about common sense in politics. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
French government defends decision
The French government said the couple were granted citizenship because “they contribute, through their distinguished actions, to France’s international influence and cultural outreach.”
It was responding to concerns raised by Marie-Pierre Vedrenne, a junior minister at the Interior Ministry, who said this week that some of the Clooneys’ new French compatriots may think the star couple were granted special treatment. The actor speaks only what he himself says is “horrible, horrible” French.
“The message being sent is not good,” Vedrenne said in an interview with broadcaster France Info. “There is an issue of fairness that, in my eyes, is absolutely essential.”
The couple bought an estate in France in 2021, and Clooney has said that it’s their primary residence. Non-French residents of France have multiple possible routes to becoming naturalised. It wasn’t clear whether the 64-year-old actor retained his American citizenship. His 47-year-old wife was born in Lebanon and raised in the UK and naturalised by France under her maiden name, Amal Alamuddin. The eight-year-old twins were born in London.
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The Foreign Ministry said the Clooneys were eligible for citizenship under a French law that allows for the naturalisation of foreign nationals who contribute to France’s international influence and economic wellbeing.
It argued that France’s cinema industry will benefit from the actor’s clout as a global movie star and said that as a lawyer, Amal Clooney regularly worked with academic institutions and international organisations in France.
“They maintain strong personal, professional and family ties with our country,” the ministry said.
“Like many French citizens, we are delighted to welcome Georges and Amal Clooney into the national community,” it concluded, giving the actor’s first name a French twist by adding the “s” at the end.
The decision was also defended by Vedrenne’s superior at the Interior Ministry, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, who said he signed the naturalisation decree.
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“It’s a big chance for our country,” he said.
In recent media interviews when he was promoting his film Jay Kelly, Clooney said he was trying to teach himself French using a language-learning app. He said his wife and children speak the language perfectly.
“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 joked, speaking to French broadcaster Canal+.
French media have reported that the Clooneys live part-time in their luxury 18th-century villa outside the town of Brignoles in southern France, where they can keep a lower profile and their children are protected from unauthorised photographs by French privacy laws.
With AP
