The first article on my citizenship journey came out in April. In it, I said, “I expect to receive communication from the prefecture within 2-3 months, and if all is satisfactory with my dossier, an interview date 2-3 months beyond that.”

I was generally right. The interview date was actually for about 7 months from that submission in April, but it was only for a few weeks after I got the all-clear on my dossier.

To be fair, after a decade with the French, I feel like I know their bureaucratic rhythms, even the new speedy post-Covid ones.

On October 21st a message appeared in my account asking for more documentation:

Attention merci de ne pas répondre à ce message, veuillez uniquement scanner en un seul document: Les bilans comptables annuels des années 2021, 2022 et 2023.

My first thought was, “Oh no, do the French want to audit my business?” But after I pondered it a bit longer, I realized it was the same thing I so often tell TAIP clients: the French are following a checklist, so give them everything they want on the checklist.

My French business accountant was kind enough to combine all three requested tax years into a single PDF, as the message demanded, and I submitted it the very next day, the 22nd.

Two days later, on the 24th, I received two messages, one right after the other.

The first one was a “Récépissé de Completude de Dossier de Demande de Naturalisation.” This was distinct from the original “Confirmation de Dépot” that I alluded to in the last article. The distinction seems to be that the first step is simply an acknowledgment that you have submitted the paperwork that was asked for. In contrast, the Récépissé implied, at least to me, that the entire dossier had been checked at least once, probably twice, by competent authorities and was found to have no serious holes (apart from the paperwork which they requested and I gave). Here’s some of the text:

RÉCÉPISSÉ DE COMPLÉTUDE DE DOSSIER DE DEMANDE DE NATURALISATION

(décret n° 93-1362 du 30 décembre 1993 – article 37)

Monsieur HEINER STEPHEN (my middle name) né à SINGAPOUR (SINGAPOUR) le (my date of birth) demeurant au (my address) 75012 Paris a déposé le 08/02/2024 à la Prefecture de Police un dossier n° (my dossier number) de demande de naturalisation, après l’avoir examinée, et constaté son caractère complet, la Prefecture de Police va procéder à son instruction.

In times past, and with less efficient processes, there may have been a lag between this Récépissé and my Convocation for my interview. In this case, there was no lag whatsoever. The very next message included:

CONVOCATION

ENTRETIEN D’ASSIMILATION

Monsieur HEINER STEPHEN (my middle name), vous avez déposé une demande de naturalisation n° (my dossier number) dans mon service.

Afin de pouvoir procéder à l’entretien réglementaire nécessaire à l’instruction de votre dossier, je vous serais obligé de vous présenter :

Le (a date in November) à 09:15 précises

Lieu : Préfecture de police – Délégation à l’immigration – Pôle de l’accès à la nationalité – 11 rue des Ursins 75004 Paris

Afin de poursuivre l’instruction de votre dossier, je vous prie d’apporter le jour de votre convocation l’ensemble des pièces d’état civil déposées lors de votre demande, en version originale.

That date was less than a month from the email I received, so my pre-planned studies went into high gear.

Now, let’s be clear, by “high gear” I don’t mean eight-hour study days. But I did set aside at least one hour a day every day until the interview to review what I wanted to know cold, which included, among other things:

• History of the 5th Republic (who was the 3rd President?)
• General French Geography (where is the Rhone River valley?)
• The mechanics of government (who is elected for how long and what kind of power does that person have?)
• Trivia (French authors and musicians, French actors and actresses, when was the death penalty abolished, etc.)

I had been generically familiar with these things but having combed the Internet for years in preparation (whenever anyone would publish the interview questions he/she was asked I saved them to an ever-growing Apple Note) I didn’t want to get caught out on something basic.

I’ve also added some B2 study modules to flex some additional tenses and vocabulary in the interview.

But let’s be clear here, the interview is not really about a sort of French Trivial Pursuit contest and getting every question “right” (more than one naturalized friend has told me he/she got at least one question “wrong” in the interview). At its heart, it is an “entretien d’assimilation,” an interview about how well I had integrated into France. The interview is to be conducted entirely in French, which also implies being able to use various tenses to talk about your past life, your present life, and your hopes for the future.

Things interviewers like to hear:

• That you have French friends
• That you have connections in France, whether that’s through joining associations or volunteer work
• That you’ve traveled in France and have learned some things through that travel
• That you accept French values and have incorporated them into your life
• That you’re not a jerk

I half-kid on that last point, only to say that in recent times I think the authorities have taken to combing your social media profiles, so if you are at all critical of France and her government, that might be held against you, even if “liberté” is touted as a “republican value” that is treasured by the state (and hence, should be treasured by you). But it is reasonable for the French, or any nation, to put a barrier up against naturalizing people who openly criticize the country when they are still only residents, even long-term residents. Such privileges are reserved for citizens, at least one would hope.

From my research I’ve found that interviews have lasted as short as 15 minutes and have gone as long as 30 minutes.

Something Jean Taquet has always stressed to me over the years and that I’ve taken to heart is the importance of having a cover letter to present that tells your interviewer why you want to become French. The current digital process doesn’t really give a space for this (i.e. a place to upload “any other documentation you might find helpful,” something that Americans consider normal but the French would consider abhorrent, as it doesn’t fit on a checklist), though Jean told me later I should have simply included it as part of the PDF of another document. In any case, I will have a one-page version of said cover letter ready, along with letters of recommendation from two friends, to present in person at my interview. If the interviewer takes the time to scan it briefly, the content of the interview may go along the outlines of the points I’ve made in the cover letter rather than the standard questions that all the interviewers can draw from.

Doli, who you’ve seen wax lyrical on bilingualism on this site, told me that her interview was almost entirely on bilingualism, as the interviewer was intrigued with her course of study and Doli basically spoke for 30-45 minutes straight before the interviewer finally wrapped things up. Doli faced no questions on presidents or mountains or where the Senate meets (the Luxembourg Palace, in case you’re wondering), reinforcing the points I made above: the interview is less about reciting facts and more about explicating the case you are making in your dossier: I feel French (for these reasons) and let me tell you (in French) all about it while you ask me (in French) follow-up questions.

I can’t wait to tell you about how it went. You’ll hear in the next article.

The image is a screenshot from my dashboard on the Etrangers en France site, showing my current progress towards a decision on nationality.

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