The interview, or Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité (part 3 of 6)

For part 1, click here, for part 2 click here.

Oh la la la, Marianne

Although we had planned our trip allowing for some delays, we arrived panting and sweating at the counter in Mâcon at 11h00 sharp, due to some tractors on the roads and the fact that 50% of the huge parking area nearby was closed off, and hence there were hardly any free spaces there. But anyway, French are never in time, and coming late seemed to be an auspicious way to start the process of becoming French. Besides, the interviewer was also not yet there. After waiting for 10 minutes I was taken into an office for the interview.

The motto of the République

The woman taking the interview turned out to be a very friendly woman. She wanted to know why I ended up living in France, what I was doing at this moment in time, whether I took part in local life, what I liked about France in particular, and, but she saved that one for last, why I would want to become a French citizen. In between there were some more questions, one of which was "I have to ask you this: What do you think a democracy is". When I started my answer with "A democracy is a political system in which the people….", she interrupted me saying "O, that is fine, you may stop, this suffices"; and at that point I thought this could not go wrong anymore.

Tricolore

And indeed, after 15 minutes of interview and five minutes of reading and signing a number of things I had read in the booklet, I was released with the promise that the paperwork would be processed in 6 to 12 months, and that after that I would be invited to a ceremony with the prefect in Mâcon, or, since there are some organisational changes in the pipe line, in Dijon. She added that I did not have to be there in person at all cost, but since we like Dijon very much…. We would not really mind to go there.
To be continued, hopefully soon.

Click here for the website of La Tuilerie de Chazelle.