She Was Asked to Change “Najat” to “Nadège” Before Becoming a French Minister

The name comes up during an administrative appointment: Nadège. Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, who was then in the process of becoming a French citizen, learns that she can Frenchify her first name. An official suggests this option to her. She recounts the episode on “Quai n°8” on LCP, a programme broadcast on 23 October.

“But why would I change my first name?” she replies. She is told that some people consider their path easier with a Frenchified first name. She prefers to keep Najat. On Sunday, 25 October, LCP published an article about this revelation, several decades after the events.

This option is part of a French administrative procedure: when acquiring French nationality, anyone can request to replace their first name with a French one. The process is optional, as the official Service-Public website explains.

From Morocco’s Rif region to the Ministry of National Education

Born in the Rif, Najat Vallaud-Belkacem arrived in France at the age of five with her family. She learned French at school, with support in particular from her older sister, Fatiha. At home, her parents advised her to keep a low profile. “We had to keep our heads down,” she told Ali Rebeihi.

When she received the document formalising her nationality, there was no ceremony to mark the occasion. She explains that she had felt French for a long time, having shared school desks with the other children.

Later in her political career, her Moroccan origins exposed her to attacks and suspicions of “dual allegiance”. She describes the difficulty of being defined by her origins despite her commitment to French public life.

In August 2014, she became Minister of National Education. The school where she had learned French as a child became the field for which she was responsible in government.