We were welcomed alongside youngsters still in education, young people in work wanting to progress in their careers, families starting new lives three old soldiers decorated with medals ( not sure where from) and of course other Brits like us who have chosen their own personal paradise and want to make the committment to their adopted country and remain proud Europeans - just how lucky are we to have the choice.
As I have said before, although overjoyed to have been accepted as a welcome French citizen, I am acutely aware how lucky are we to have the chance to even think about choosing where we want to live - our personal paradise - when there are so many less fortunate displaced people around the world, and here in France, just desperate to find a safe haven to escape real horrors and persecution in their homelands - another and much more important story for our times.
Added to this the revelations in the British news of the despicable behaviour of the home office in recent years towards people whose parents were asked to come, immigrated perfectly legally and have lived all their lives in England puts into stark contrast our experience here.
How about this for a difference too , I looked at what would happen at ceremonies before going yesterday and came across this gem about an British version:
You'll be invited to book a place at a citizenship ceremony if your application is successful and you're over 18. You're usually allowed to take 2 guests. You must take your invitation when you go to your ceremony. There's a ceremony fee of £
Our ceremony was free, people crammed into the room with children and other family and friends, everyone was spoken to individually by the prefet.
In the speech by the prefet there was a great deal of emphasis on French values liberté, égalité and fraternité - now those are values to be proud of - I am proud to be able to call myself French and European.
There are people I know ( none of them French) who regard this move as unpatriotic and believe we should be in some way "struck off" the British list but I am also still British and always will be, I was born British, my family is British, I pay a good proportion of my taxes to England and there is much I love about Great Britain but so much that I hear about at the moment that I cannot be proud of. I worry for its future and the isolationist , nationalist road it seems hell bent on following.
And so ........ je suis Française - merci France
