Algerian Immigrant Denied French Citizenship for Exceeding Work Hours Limit

The administration refused his naturalization application because he has held multiple jobs and worked too much, reports BFMTV. He accumulated nearly 250 hours between his full-time permanent contract and fixed-term contract assignments in events or as a security guard. However, the legal working time is set at 151 hours per month.

"I wanted to guarantee a better life for my family. I told myself ’I have time so I might as well work and earn a little more’. I wasn’t making 10 million. I barely exceeded 2,000 euros (...) I work too hard to be French," he confides. The thirty-year-old arrived in France in 2007 where he obtained degrees in physics and engineering, biology chemistry and health, followed by a master’s degree in Hygiene-Safety-Environment. He then settled with his family in Reims.

The refusal of his naturalization was notified to him in a letter addressed by the sub-directorate for French nationality: "Sir, we cannot grant you French nationality, you have exceeded the legal working time in France." "I’m shocked. If they had told me I had an unstable professional situation, I could have understood. But they blame me for working too much and I don’t understand that," he laments.

The young Algerian intends to file an appeal and also write to French President Emmanuel Macron. "I believe in resilience. I will never give up," he says.