Although he is popular in France and has lived there for several years, Gad Elmaleh has not been able to acquire French nationality. “I don’t have a French passport, I don’t have French citizenship. It’s not a belief. To be very honest, I started the process a very long time ago, and it was such a job that I gave up on it,” said Gad Elmaleh on the 8:30 p.m. set on Sunday on France 2, where he was invited to promote his new show Himself.
Read: Gad Elmaleh talks about his “immigrant” life
The choice of the comedian can also be explained by a personal reason. He prefers to live like an immigrant in France. “I liked the idea of being an immigrant in France for whom things are going very well and who lives the life of the French, who does not need to become French to be loved, appreciated, helped initially by the French,” says the native of Casablanca.
Read: Difficult for Gad Elmaleh to obtain French nationality
This is not the first time that the Moroccan-Canadian comedian has raised this subject. “It’s true, I have my Canadian passport, Moroccan, but not French. When I arrived in France, I had queued for hours in front of the Prefecture to obtain my residence permit and have the right to work,” he confided to the Journal du Dimanche in 2022. After spending four years in Montreal, Gad Elmaleh moved to Paris in 1992, where he followed artistic training at the Cours Florent, in a free class.
To read: Gad Elmaleh: the mothers of my children are “neither Jewish nor Moroccan”
The steps Gad had taken to obtain French nationality proved unsuccessful. “ […] It was really too complicated, long and tedious, I got a little discouraged. Since then, I have not renewed,” he revealed. However, his love for France has not aged a bit. “ […] I love France, I owe it a lot. I live there and pay my taxes there. My only frustration is not being able to vote. »
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