Edicts - Ordinances

October / November 1945

Order of the October 19th 1945 “portant code de la nationalité française”
Order of November 2nd 1945 « relative aux conditions d’entrée et de séjours en France des étrangers et portant création de l’Office nati

October 19, 1945 ordinance "on the French nationality code. "
The text is composed of 151 articles. It sets the duration of residence and employment for 5 years, but there are many exceptions such as the onc for the volunteers who served in the French army (total exemption of duration). The acquisition statements are facilitated. The immigrant’s child born in France may claim the French nationality without parental consent at the age of 18 instead of 21 years, age of majority, and the one who wants to refuse have to do it during the six-month period that precedes this majority instead of the following year. The effect of mixed marriage is changing in the same direction: the foreigner who marries a French no longer needs to do a request to become a French citizen.
The new code of nationality retains no distinction of ethnicity or related to the geographical origin of foreigners.

November 2, 1945 ordinance : It creates particularly the ONI (National Immigration Office), responsible on behalf of the state, substituting for private companies, the operation for foreign recruitment abroad. The edict also creates a card called "privileged residence card" valid for ten years. To obtain it, the candidate must have resided in France for at least three years continuously and be under the age of 35 years from the date of his entry into France. The age can be increased by 5 years for each under age child. Other measures are taken e for foreigners married to French women, foreign fathers or mothers of French children (period reduced to one year) or who served in combat units of French or allied armies.

The ordinance of October 19, 1945 put an end to the dispersion of texts relating to the nationality right by codifying them. But first and foremost, it turns its back on the deviance of the Vichy regime and goes back over some restrictive pre-war measures and extends the case of attribution and acquisition of French nationality. This is applied to children born abroad to a French mother and foreign nationals marrying a French citizen.
France returns to the previous balance between birthright and jus soli.

This ordinance has been modified several times. It may be mentioned as examples: the Act of January 9, 1973 which, among other things , harmonize the nationality right with the great reforms of the Civil Code of the 60s and 70s on filiation, parental authority and marriage settlement and draws the conclusions of gaining independence from former territories overseas, the Act of May 7, 1984 which tightens the conditions the French nationality acquisition by marriage.

The ordinance of November 2, 1945 sets up a managerial policy of the immigration working force. The economic conditions (period of reconstruction, economic boom and strong need for manpower) imply that this text has not been used for years, nor the mission of the ONI, which has the monopoly of foreigners introduction. The ONI was indeed overwhelmed by the massive influx of Algerians to whom the act of September 20, 1947 granted freedom of movement on the mainland, but also spontaneous entries of Portuguese. Much of its activity will therefore consist in legalizing the stay of unskilled labour indispensable for production.

Ordonnance du 19 octobre 1945 “portant code de la nationalité française” ; JO du 20 octobre 1945, pp 6700-6708, consultable à partir du lien suivant : http://www.legislation.cnav.fr/textes/ord/TLR-ORD_452447_19101945.htm
Ordinance of

Frédéric Rousselle / Marika Kovacs

CNFETP

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