Becoming French

On Monday 26th I declared myself to be a Frenchman. It works much more democratically than than British system. You just have to provide documents proving that you are entitled to be French by ancestry or marriage and that you have no criminal record. You are then invited to have a conversation - in my case with the Vice Consul - showing that you can speak French. After that you sign a declaration that you are claiming your nationality. No exam on French history and culture; no production of utility bills or tax receipts..., and nothing like the gracious act of the Queen accepting you as a subject, So civilized! The French Foreign Ministry has up to a year to find fault with my declaration, but the Vice Consul assured me that would be highly unlikely. They are overwhelmed with applications, and it took them nearly a year to respond to mine, by which time several of the documents had expired and had to be re-done, and the cost of the documents and translations was about £180, plus £47 fee for processing my application: well worth the effort and expense! A happy experience!