The French government has defended its decision to grant citizenship to U.S. citizen George Clooney and his wife, Amal Clooney, a British and Lebanese citizen, following President Donald Trump’s criticism of the pair and a French official’s accusation that the two received preferential treatment.
The Clooneys recently locked in their French citizenship, the couple announced in late December. The decision to award the Clooneys citizenship outside of normal immigration practices upset Marie-Pierre Vedrenne, a junior minister at the French Interior Ministry.
“The message being sent is not good,” Vedrenne told news outlet France Info. “There is an issue of fairness that, in my eyes, is absolutely essential.”
In a statement issued Wednesday, the French government said the Clooneys “contribute, through their distinguished actions, to France’s international influence and cultural outreach.”
The actor, 64, and his human rights lawyer wife, 47, bought a home in France in 2021. The two have 8-year-old twins who were born in England.
They have said their French home is their primary residence, though French media have reported that it is their part-time home.
The Clooneys said their decision to raise their children in France was in an effort to be out of the paparazzi’s reach.
The French Foreign Ministry has maintained that it was within its legal right to grant citizenship to the Clooneys under a French law that permits foreign nationals to be naturalized if they contribute to France’s international influence and economic well-being.
The same department stated that France’s movie industry would benefit from Clooney’s work as a movie star and his wife’s involvement with academic and international organizations in the country.
President Donald Trump sarcastically cheered on the couple’s new citizenship.
MAMDANI VOWS TO GOVERNMENT AS ‘DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST’ AND EMBRACE BIG GOVERNMENT
“Good News! George and Amal Clooney, two of the worst political prognosticators of all time, have officially become citizens of France which is, sadly, in the midst of a major crime problem because of their absolutely horrendous handling of immigration, much like we had under Sleepy Joe Biden,” Trump wrote Wednesday on Truth Social.
<iframe src="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/115816402893182666/embed" class="truthsocial-embed" style="max-width: 100%; border: 0" width="600" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><script src="https://truthsocial.com/embed.js" async="async"></script>Clooney had endorsed former President Joe Biden in the 2024 presidential campaign but pulled his endorsement of the Democrat after a poor performance during a debate against Trump.