In 1967 my father, a Spanish immigrant, became a French citizen. At the time there was no such thing as “dual nationality”. He, and his four brothers and sisters, had no choice but to “renounce” their Spanish citizenship.
Surprisingly, it is only very recently, in April 2022, that France and Spain signed an agreement that allows their respective citizens to be both French and Spanish. From a European point of view, it does not change too much. Indeed, European citizens are allowed to live and work in most of the EU countries. But from an historical point of view, this convention recognizes the deep roots of Spanish immigration in France.
Although I grew up in France, with a French mother and French citizenship, I always felt that the Spanish half of me was an important part of my identity. I do not need a Spanish passport to FEEL Spanish, but when I moved to Spain in 2002, I was a foreigner in the eyes of the authorities.
Today, I am happy to say that I won’t be a stranger in Spain anymore ! 57 years after my father lost his nationality, I recovered half of it by becoming Franco-Spanish. A nice tribute to him and his family that had to make a difficult choice in hopes to live a better life, which they did in their adoptive country : France.
isabelle garcia 