British PM's father plans to seek French citizenship
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A 2019 photo of Mr Stanley Johnson in London. Asked this week about his plans to seek French citizenship, he said his mother was born in France and "for me, it's a question of obtaining what I already have and I am very happy about that".
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
PARIS • British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's father Stanley has confirmed plans to seek French citizenship as the free movement of Britons in the European Union comes to an end under the Brexit pact delivered by his son.
The older Mr Johnson told France's RTL radio on Thursday: "It's not a question of becoming French. If I understand correctly, I am French! My mother was born in France, and her mother was completely French, as was her grandfather."
Speaking in French, the 80-year-old added: "For me, it's a question of obtaining what I already have and I am very happy about that."
The father of the politician who ended Britain's 47-year-old membership of the EU was among the first civil servants appointed to Brussels after Britain joined the EU in 1973.
He worked for the European Commission and served as a member of the European Parliament.
He initially campaigned against leaving the EU before changing his mind a year after Britain voted to leave the union in 2016.
"I will always be European, that's for sure," he told RTL, adding: "You can't tell the English: you're not European. Europe is more than the single market, it's more than the European Union."
In an apparent reference to an EU passport, he added: "That said, to have a link like that with the EU is important."
His announcement was not well received in some quarters of British society.
Mr Chris Rennard, a Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords, said Mr Stanley Johnson deserved the "brass neck of the year award... for being able to preserve his personal benefits of EU citizenship through a French passport application".
"This is something which his son Boris is denying from tonight to 67 million UK citizens."
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE