 "Hollywood superstar George Clooney and Amal Clooney have been granted French citizenship along with their children. File image/Reuters")
Bonjour! Hollywood star George Clooney and his wife Amal Alamuddin Clooney are now officially French citizens. The development was confirmed through France’s government gazette, as reported by news agency AFP.
The move comes as the actor hinted at his fondness for the European country and praised the French privacy laws that he says offer vital protection for his children. The glamorous couple are parents to eight-year-old twins, Ella and Alexander.
“I love the French culture, your language, even if I’m still bad at it after 400 days of courses,” the 64-year-old actor told RTL radio earlier. He further said, “Here, they don’t take photos of kids. There aren’t any paparazzi hidden at the school gates. That’s number one for us.”
Why did George Clooney become a French citizen?
George Clooney has often expressed his love for French culture. He recently applauded the privacy that the French give, which he states is important for his children.
During an interview with Esquire, he said, “I was worried about raising our kids in Los Angeles, in the culture of Hollywood.” He further said, “I felt like they were never going to get a fair shake at life. France – they kind of don’t give a sh*t about fame.”
“I don’t want them to be walking around worried about paparazzi. I don’t want them being compared to somebody else’s famous kids,” he told Esquire.
The Clooneys own a wine estate named Domaine du Canadel, near the village of Brignoles in the south of France. The place comes with 425 acres of land including an olive grove, a vineyard, a tennis court and a boules pitch.
The couple also owns a villa in Italy’s picturesque Lake Como, which was purchased in 2002, along with a historic manor that he and Amal bought in England. They also own a New York apartment and a property in Kentucky, but reportedly sold homes in Los Angeles and Mexico over the past decade.
Clooney told RTL that although the family jet-sets around, their French home “is where we’re happiest”.
What are France’s privacy laws?
France, by far, has some some of the world’s strictest privacy rules, setting firm boundaries for the media. Rather than allowing unfettered access, the law requires publishers to exercise discretion. It is illegal to print photos of celebrities in public unless the images are directly related to their professional role. This reflects a deliberate decision to separate a person’s public work from their private existence.
Moreover, the right to privacy is enshrined in Article 9 of the French Civil Code. As per this, everybody has a basic right not to have images of themselves published against their will. Hence, photographers usually take the consent of their subjects when they are snapped in a private space. In fact, France’s penal code states that taking or publishing a photo of somebody, taken in a private place without their consent, is punishable by up to a year in prison and a €45,000 (Rs 47.58 lakh) fine.
However, in public spaces, no particular authorisation is needed if - crucially - a public figure is aware that their photo is being taken or if the image illustrates a newsworthy event.
It is perhaps because of this that Clooney is not the only Hollywood celebrity to want to become French. US director Jim Jarmusch on Friday told France Inter radio that he plans to apply for French nationality. “I would like a place that will allow me to escape from the United States,” he said, also saying he was attracted to French culture.
With inputs from agencies