Loss of French nationality: the notion of « ascendant » under article 30-3 of the French civil code includes grandparents

In a recent judgment dated May 17, 2023, the French highest civil Court, the Cour de cassation, clarified the scope of article 30-3 of the French Civil Code.

Under the terms of this complex law, any person who is French by descent is deemed to have lost French nationality after a period of 50 years, if, on the one hand, during this period he and his French parent have had no document inherent to French nationality, like passports, ID cards etc. (it’s called « possession d’état de français »). And, on the other hand, he is unable to demonstrate that neither he nor any of his « ascendants from whom he derives nationality by descent » have had their residency on the French territory (which rules out short-term stays).

This regulation was intended to exclude from French nationality those who have had no use of it for a long time.

In its decision, the Cour de cassation partially confirmed the position of the cour d’appel de Paris and for the first time extended the above-mentioned notion of ascendant to include French grandparents.

In this case, the claimant’s French grandmother, who lived in Algeria for most of her life, is deemed to have lived in France until July 3, 1962, the date of Algerian independence (i.e. the date from which this territory is no longer considered French). Moreover, she moved to France in 2005, less than 50 years later. As a result, article 30-3 of the French Civil Code could not apply.

This position, which we hope will be confirmed in the future, will enable many French citizens who have been living abroad with their families for decades to escape the application of the presumption under article 30-3, which we recall is irrebuttable (Civ 1ère, June 13, 2019, n°18-16.838). In other words, the claimant in question has no way of escaping the effects of loss of nationality, even if he was to provide the copy of a French passport dating back from after the aforementioned 50-year period.

Please note, however, that you will need to demonstrate that the grandparent in question has passed on French nationality to the applicant over two generations, i.e. that the applicant himself is French and has passed on his nationality to his children. This can prove complex.

Civ 1ère 17 mai 2023 n°21-50.068.