French Citizenship question

[Amor de Cosmos]

My step-daughter is at the last stage of her application. It's an interview, but she's not exactly clear on what's required. Unlike the Canadian test, for example, it doesn't seem to be a straight Q&A. By what she's gleaned from others, the questions are more along the lines of, "What do you think is the most important point in French history," (I suggested the Battle of Agincourt, but she thought not!) or "What's particularly interesting about the town you live in." It's seems like an ability to converse (though isn't that what the speech exam was for?) know some general knowledge, and have an opinion is the goal, but she's not sure. She has to fly from Houston to Los Angeles to take it, so would like as clear an idea of what they're looking for as possible. Any help is gratefully received.

[Diable Rouge]

Sending Kev a PM would seem a wise option here.

[Amor de Cosmos]

Good thought.

[Pérou Flaquettes]

It seems to vary from one préfecture to another (or embassy/consulate), and possibly one interviewer to another but the average seems to be 15-20 minutes.

I asked the Head of the Institut Français in Edinburgh when I was there a month ago (for my wife) and he confirmed that but said that it could last much longer, up to 45 minutes. He said the level required was roughly the same as the old GCSE A*-A, so quite solid (he said also: B1 level on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages). Tell your step-daughter to phone a few (teaching) Alliance Française or Instituts Français in the USA, they’re likely to know as most (teaching) alliances will have courses geared towards the exam, demand has shot up he told me.

I get the impression (from reading about it on the Net, expats' forums) that if the interviewer susses out that the person in front of her/him is very fluent, knows French society very well etc., the ITW is short. Conversely, if the person’s French is a bit ropey and they’re a bit iffy on French culture/history/etc., they might decide to extend the ITW, not necessarily out of sadism but to give the candidate a better chance (but that is purely my interpretation. I was about to ask this very Q to the Head of the IF, Reinald de Meyer, but he got called on something urgent and didn’t reappear but anyway by then I’d worked out that the exam is too tough for my wife to take within a year, she'll need far more practice to pass the first part, the Comprehension orale bit. They currently have 6 exams a year at Edinburgh, but I’m not sure they do the Expression orale part).

I’ve just found this on the Net:

The interview with the local authorities - if you get one - can range from quite simple to quite lengthy.

Margaret Blakeborough, a 72-year-old in Calvados, said hers was around 40 mins and stuck mostly to the basics.

"I was asked about my life in France, why I wanted to live here, the meaning of the motto liberté, égalité, fraternité, the meaning of laïcité, the name of the prime minister, the name of the national anthem, places I knew in Paris and some history about the Second World War."

Others reported that they weren't asked anything of the sort, only personal questions.

And this: https://www.gisti.org/IMG/pdf/natura...e_1-7-2012.pdf

And this: http://www.lepoint.fr/societe/commen...1670951_23.php

"Qu'est-ce que vous regardez au cinéma ?" Clémentine, Congolaise, auxiliaire de vie, est face à l'examinatrice qui lui fait passer l'épreuve d'expression orale du test de connaissance du français (TCF), étape obligée depuis janvier 2012 pour obtenir la nationalité française. La question la laisse perplexe. "Des films ?" répond Clémentine. "Lesquels ?" demande l'examinatrice. "Pas des films de guerre, chez moi, il y a beaucoup de guerre. - Des comédies ?" lui suggère l'examinatrice. "Oui, c'est ça. - Vous allez souvent au cinéma ? - Non."

Clémentine n'est pas plus inspirée quand c'est à son tour de poser des questions à l'examinatrice sur ses pratiques sportives supposées. Celle-ci lui tend des perches : "Je fais de la natation. - Ah, vous savez nager. - Je fais aussi du badminton. - C'est quoi ? - Je fais beaucoup de sport", insiste l'examinatrice. "Vous êtes sportive alors, c'est bien pour la santé. Il faut que je vous dise, je fais pas de sport, j'ai mal aux pieds."

Clémentine aura encore droit à une question sur l'argent et le bonheur, et à une autre sur la musique qui adoucit les moeurs. "Qu'en pensez-vous ? - Je ne sais pas." Elle a échappé à "en quoi est-il important ou non de promouvoir le multilinguisme dans les régions frontalières ?" ou "en quoi la multiplication des moyens de communication améliore-t-elle ou pas la communication ?"

[Amor de Cosmos]

Excellent! Many thanks Kev.