'Half-French': France's far-right pushes to ban dual nationals from 'sensitive' jobs

Rising far-right parties in France wants to ban French people with dual nationality from holding "sensitive" jobs. The deeply unconstitutional measure is worrying the large Franco-Maghreb community.

"The most strategic positions of the State will be reserved for French nationals," said National Rally (RN) president Jordan Bardella this week.

The measure will "prevent" French people with dual nationality from occupying "extremely sensitive jobs," the list of which will be defined "by decree" after the adoption of an "organic law."

When asked if the police would, for example, be among these "sensitive positions," RN assured that it is "not at all in its entirety, but some specific positions, such as the DGSI" [Directorate General of Internal Security].

Bardella, known for his anti-immigrant stance, said the measure would affect "very, very few people."

However, the French Democratic Confederation of Labour (CFDT) estimated that 3.3 million French people could be banned from accessing certain jobs if the RN's promise became law.

Far-right: takes on dual citizenship

This is not the first time the RN has toyed with the idea of differentiating between people with only French citizenship and those who hold a second one, mostly due to their multicultural background.

Dual nationals account for 5% of the population of France. 90% of them are immigrants or descendants of immigrants. More than two-thirds are North African immigrants, while the rest are mostly Turkish or Portuguese immigrants.

At a certain point, the National Rally (RN) – formerly the National Front (FN) – considered abolishing dual citizenship.

"You have to choose: you are an Algerian or a French citizen," said Jean-Marie Le Pen in an interview in 1985.

His daughter Marine Le Pen has carried on this idea despite their infamous discord. In 2022, she abandoned her dad's theory, saying she had "evolved" on the issue of dual citizenship.

In December 2022, amid the football match between France and Morocco, Bardella said there were "French people of foreign origin locked into repentance and hatred of France," a "generation that has reached adult age (...) and behaves like nationals of a foreign state."

In January 2024, the RN submitted a referendum bill that included several anti-migration policies and suggested a law that "may also prohibit access to jobs in the administration, public enterprises, and legal entities tasked with a public service mission for people who hold the nationality of another state."

How serious is the far-right's promise?

The problem with the RN's promise is that French dual nationals are French citizens, with all the rights and obligations linked to French nationality, according to the constitution.

"I don't see how that is constitutionally feasible. It is the principle of equal treatment between a national and a dual national that is at issue here," explained Anne Levade, professor of public law at the University of Paris I-Panthéon Sorbonne, in an interview with French Media Les Echos.

While Bardella's promises remain most likely off-limits and just another technique in the far-right play book to capitalise on rising anti-immigration sentiments in the country, they remain harmful to French communities from immigrant backgrounds and could normalise discrimination in workplaces.

And even Gabriel Attal, not a fan of migrants himself, agrees.

"The message you are sending is that when someone is a dual national, they are only half-national, not real French, and not trustworthy enough to hold positions of responsibility. Imagine the message you are sending," said Attal on June 25 during a debate with RN's Bardella and Bompard from the New Popular Front (NFP).

"3.5 million French people felt humiliated by this proposal," added Attal.

Currently, the French constitution does not prevent dual nationality access to public service jobs. Some jobs, known as "sovereignty jobs," because they are related to the State's sovereign functions (defence, budget, security, diplomacy), are reserved for French nationals, whether they theoretically hold a second nationality or not.

"I have the same citizenship as Bardella, as Macron, as Attal [...] We are equals according to the constitution," argues Chaimae, a 26-year-old French citizen, born to a Moroccan father and French-Algerian mother.

"Why would I be excluded from certain jobs? It's blatant racism," she added.

The North African diaspora is deeply worried about the rise of the far-right to power, amid increasing hate crimes and Islamophobia against the community.

In April, political science researcher Julien Talpin revealed in his book "La France, tu l'aimes, mais tu la quittes" (France, You Love, but You Leave) that thousands of French Muslims have left the country due to rising Islamophobia and discrimination against the community.