George Clooney and his wife, Amal, obtain French citizenship
The actor and the lawyer own a property in the south of France and move there to keep their children away from the paparazzi.
BarcelonaGeorge Clooney and his wife, Amal Alamuddin, along with their children, Ella and Alexander, have been granted French citizenship by decree, according to the French government's official gazette published over the weekend. One of the reasons the couple applied for French citizenship was reportedly to ensure the protection of their eight-year-old children from paparazzi. The children were born in 2017 in London, where the couple also has a residence because Amal Clooney, who was born in Lebanon, moved to the UK with her family fleeing the war. In a recent interview on French public radio, George Clooney praised the country's laws that guarantee his family's privacy. "They don't take pictures of the children here. There are no paparazzi hiding at the children's school. For us, this is the number one priority," he explained to RTL Radio. Beyond this legal matter, the actor and the human rights lawyer have a close relationship with France, as they have owned an estate in the south of France since 2021, an old vineyard called Domaine du Canadel, near the village of Bringoles. Last October, in an interview with the magazine EsquireClooney confirmed that this estate is now the family's primary residence.
"You know, we live on a farm in France. I spent a good part of my childhood growing up on a farm, and as a kid I hated the idea. But now, for them, it's like... they're not glued to their iPads, you know? They eat dinner with the adults and they have to carry their own plates." He explained his decision not to raise his children in Hollywood. "I felt like [in Hollywood] they'd never have a real chance in life. In France, fame doesn't matter a damn. I don't want [my kids] going around the world worrying about paparazzi." “I don’t want them to be compared to someone else’s famous children,” reflected the actor, who grew up in Kent. In 2016, Clooney was decorated as an Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters of France.
Despite being American, Clooney has had many ties to Europe. Before marrying Amal, the actor owned a mansion near Lake Como, Villa Oleandra. She bought it more than two decades ago and regularly spends her summer holidays there.Furthermore, Clooney and his wife chose Italy to celebrate their marriage in 2014.