In addition to four years of continuous residence in the country, future French citizens are also required to take an exam on knowledge of the language and «basic moral values of French society».
The initiative to introduce DNA testing has divided French society and parliament. Numerous human rights groups called the measure «racist» and the day of the law's adoption a «day of shame». According to French Socialist Party member Arnaud Montebourg, «this law violates the fundamental principles of the republic, where concepts such as «family» and «kinship» are not determined only biologically».
The adoption of the law was personally initiated by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. The fight against illegal immigration became one of the main planks of his election campaign. He promised his voters to deport 25,000 illegal immigrants from France this year. Speaking in defense of the law, the president noted that similar measures have been introduced in 12 European countries, including Denmark and the Netherlands, and he sees no reason why France cannot follow their example.
It should be noted that the final version of the document turned out to be much softer than the version developed at the Élysée Palace. The first version provided for mandatory DNA testing for all those wishing to obtain a French passport based on family ties. The costs of its implementation were to be borne by the person wishing to enter the country.
Many of the president's allies from the Union for a Popular Movement spoke out against such harsh requirements. In their opinion, the introduction of mandatory DNA testing would violate the presumption of innocence and would equate migrants to criminals, whose DNA data the French police have long been collecting. In the version of the document adopted by parliament, DNA testing went from mandatory to desirable. The test can only be applied to a mother who is already a French citizen if she wants to speed up the entry of her young child into the country. The state plans to pay for the test.
After approval in parliament, the law was to operate in test mode for 18 months. However, after the Socialist Party challenged the law's provisions in the Constitutional Council, its entry into force was postponed until a decision was made.
It is expected that immigrants from Africa will suffer the most from the new rules. They are the ones who most often have problems with documents. Many of them try to enter the territory of the French Republic with fake passports, providing false information about family ties with French citizens. The President of Senegal, Abdoulaye Wade, spoke in defense of the continent's residents. He called the adoption of the law a serious mistake and a disrespect for human freedom.