Hard-left leader pledges to scrap French citizenship changes
Tough new rules on income requirements for French citizenship, which have made it impossible for many retirees to ever become French, would be scrapped if the hard-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon wins the 2027 election, according to the party’s manifesto.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, candidate for the hard-left La France Insoumise party, unveiled his full manifesto over the weekend, including a pledge on French citizenship.
Mélenchon unveiled his manifesto, L’avenir en commun, at a party rally on the outskirts of Paris, pledging a fact of economic policies including reducing the pension age to 60, increasing minimum wage and moving to a 32-hour working week.
READ ALSO: Nuclear, minimum wage and citizenship: Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s 2027 manifesto
Don’t miss our editor’s weekly breakdown of the 2027 French presidential election race
But buried among the more eye-catching proposals was one that will be of particular interest to many foreigners in France: “To repeal the most recent laws on asylum and immigration, the so-called ‘Retailleau’ memo, and all legislation that criminalises foreign nationals and those who assist them.”
Memo
The ‘Retailleau memo’ was a document circulated by the then-Interior Minister Buno Retailleau in 2025 on the subject of income requirements for French citizenship.
Ministerial memos (circulaires) are intended only to clarify the existing rules, rather than change the system entirely, but the Retailleau memo ended up having a huge effect on citizenship applications for many foreigners in France, especially retirees, through its stricter application of rules on income.
READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: France’s new income requirements for citizenship
Although it has always been the case that applicants for French citizenship through residency (par décret) have had to demonstrate that they have “sufficient and stable income”, the Retailleau memo specified that this must be “French-sourced” income.
This effectively excludes anyone who has retired to France and is living mainly on a foreign pension from citizenship, and since that memo, The Local has heard from dozens of retirees whose applications have been refused.
The memo also specifies that applicants must have regular and stable employment – this effectively excludes many foreigners who moved to France with their parents at a young age and grew up here. Previously they could apply as soon as they reached the age of 18, but now they must demonstrate regular and stable income, which excludes, for example, students.
Because these changes were introduced via a ministerial memo, they can be cancelled at any other time by a subsequent memo. No act of parliament or new law is required.
Although not all 2027 candidates have revealed their full manifestos yet, you can read a round-up HERE on what each of the main candidates proposes when it comes to immigration matters. You can find all the latest from the campaign trail here.
