France has granted citizenship to more than 12,000 foreign-born health workers, security guards, checkout assistants and other frontline workers to thank them for their services during the Covid crisis, the government said Thursday.
Marlene Schiappa, junior interior minister in charge of citizenship, said more than 16,000 people had applied for a French passport over the past year under a special scheme allowing workers in essential services to apply for citizenship after two years in France, instead of the usual five.
Of these, 12,012 became French, she said.
Among other categories of employees eligible for the scheme are refuse collectors, care providers and nannies.
“These frontline workers were there for the nation. It is normal that the nation makes a gesture in their favour,” Ms Schiappa said.
In 2020, a total of 61,371 people obtained French citizenship.
