France deemed her poorly assimilated; Moroccan woman gets nationality refusal overturned

The Moroccan national had filed, on July 1, 2022, a declaration to acquire French nationality on the grounds of her marriage to a French citizen.

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This procedure allows the foreign spouse of a French citizen to acquire nationality by declaration, subject to several conditions, notably that the spouses continue to share a life together.

However, the government may oppose it on grounds of unworthiness or insufficient assimilation other than linguistic assimilation. In this case, the Prime Minister used this option through a decree issued on September 25, 2024.

The administration considered that the Moroccan woman could not be regarded as sufficiently assimilated into the French community. It relied in particular on a summary report drawn up in September 2022 by the services of the Oise prefecture and on an additional interview held in May 2024.

The published decision does not, however, specify what concrete behavior was alleged against the woman. The Moroccan woman directly petitioned the Council of State to have the decree preventing her from acquiring French nationality annulled.

The administration fails to prove insufficient assimilation

To justify such opposition, the government had to demonstrate that the applicant adopted conduct or defended ideas showing a rejection of the essential principles of the Republic. It could also establish that she was deliberately keeping herself apart from the national community.

Yet none of these elements emerged from the documents submitted to the judge. Neither the prefecture’s report nor the account of the second interview made it possible to demonstrate a rejection of republican principles or a desire to remain on the margins of French society.

In its decision of May 29, 2026, the Council of State therefore considers that the Prime Minister incorrectly applied the Civil Code by finding insufficient assimilation. The decree of September 25, 2024, is annulled.

This decision is therefore not based on a mere procedural irregularity. The highest administrative court considers that the facts presented by the Interior Ministry did not legally make it possible to classify the Moroccan woman as insufficiently assimilated.

The ruling also sets a limit on the use of this concept. A general impression, suspicions, or a lifestyle considered different are not enough: the administration must provide evidence showing a genuine rejection of the essential principles of the Republic or a deliberate exclusion from the national community.

On Bladi.net : France Denies Citizenship to Moroccan Man Over Ties to Home Country

The annulment eliminates the decree that blocked the Moroccan national’s acquisition of French nationality. The Council of State thus reiterates that the government cannot invoke insufficient assimilation without being able to establish its reality concretely.