The French authorities decided to award citizenship to migrants who helped the country to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the BBC.
The French Ministry of the Interior has announced the launch of an accelerated naturalization procedure for health workers, cleaners and store employees. It is reported that more than 700 people have already received citizenship or are in the final stages of obtaining it. In total, about 2,890 applications were received.
Usually, in order to obtain French citizenship, you need to live in the country for five years, as well as prove the presence of a stable income and integration into French society. However, migrants who worked on the “front line of the coronavirus” will only be able to obtain citizenship after two years of living in France as a sign of gratitude for their “great services” to society.
According to the latest data, 2,547,643 cases of coronavirus infection were detected in France. In total, over 61,820 people died from complications caused by the disease.