Law

August 1Oth 1927

Act of August 10th 1927 on French nationality
Official bulletin

To facilitate the integration of the foreigners, the 1927 act provides a easier access to the French nationality (reduction of the duration of residence to 3 years).

Just after the war of 1914-1918, France lost a substantial number of its able-bodied men so they appealed to immigration. To make French both by assimilation of foreign contributions by the birth, the drafters of the Act of August 10, 1927 openly aimed at naturalizing 100 000 per year! There are also lots of concerns about the demographic weight of Germany. Thus, thanks to the Minister of Justice Louis Barthou the most liberal law on naturalization we have ever known in France was voted. Three years of residence are sufficient, instead of ten, to be eligible for naturalization.
As for women, since 1803, the woman used to take her husband's nationality. In the mid 1920s, more than 150.000 women born French became foreign marrying a foreigner. Yet they still live in France, but lose their jobs if they were previously civil servants, post-office workers or teachers. For example if they had married an Italian, they could not divorce because divorce was banned in Italy.
The 1927 Act changed this situation: a French woman marrying a foreigner retains, if she wants it , her nationality and her rights.
The law also stipulates that children born from a French mother and a foreign father, a frequent occurrence, are French.
From 1927 to 1938, the number of naturalizations rose to 38,000 per year on average, reaching 81,000 in 1938.

Journal officiel JO 14-08-1927 p.8699
http://www.hjil.de/01_1929/1_1929_2_b_745_2_751_1.pdf

Frédéric Rousselle / Marika Kovacs

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