French-speaking Belgians who have lived in the Drôme for years are unable to be naturalized because of their level of French.

Martine et Vincent n'arrivent pas à se faire naturaliser Français. MAXPPP – Richard Villalon

Martine et Vincent vivent depuis des années dans la Drôme et souhaitent obtenir leur nationalité française mais l'administration refuse de leur donner car ils ne maîtriseraient pas assez bien la langue de Molière.

Martine and Vincent Lenoir are "perfectly integrated" to French society. They have lived in Drôme for several years, speak French, work in France and pay their taxes here. With such a solid file, obtaining French nationality should be a formality for them. At least that's what they thought.

This Belgian couple who have lived for several years in France are encountering all the difficulties in the world to obtain French naturalization, reports Le Parisien. The reason ? The couple would not be able to demonstrate sufficient mastery of the language of Molière. However, "French is our mother tongue, we did all our studies in the French-speaking educational system of Belgium" plague Martine.

Obtaining the right to vote in France

One of the couple's motivations for becoming naturalized would be to gain access to the right to vote. "We want to vote for people who make our lives here, while we are obliged to participate in the elections in Belgium (under penalty of a fine) for people who no longer take care of our daily life here in France", deplores Vincent.

The icing on the cake, Martine recently wrote a book in French. His first appeal led to a new refusal. while her husband's is still waiting for a response from the prefecture.