The Boys in Blue

We were told that the Gendarmes would be stopping by the house at some point to interview me as part of the French Citizenship process.

Sure enough, Wednesday afternoon a blue Gendarmes-mobile pulled up in front of the house, with two boys in blue asking if this was the home of yours truly. We are amazed at how quickly this is all happening. My application was just accepted at the end of November so we thought we would have at least 5-6 months before they would show up.
Is it my imagination, or is France becoming more efficient?

I calmly said to my husband, "the Gendarmes are here," as I looked around the house, thanking my lucky stars that I had dusted, vacuumed and organized all the crap lying around the living room only a couple of days before. And trying to remain calm. We had know idea what kind of information they would ask for.

There was no need to worry.

The questions were very basic. They wanted to see my carte de séjour and asked the following:

When did you arrive in France?
How long have you lived in the house?
Why do you want to become a French citizen?
Have you integrated into the community?
What kind of work do you do?
How do you afford to live in France?
Have you ever been involved in politics?
Have you ever been convicted of a crime?

That was it!
He told us he was happy with our answers and that his report would be sent to the next level.

I was literally skipping with joy when they left. This year just might see me becoming a French citizen!