"I think I made a mistake": Marine Le Pen makes her mea culpa on dual nationality

Marine Le Pen admits she was wrong to have advocated for a ban on dual nationality for several years. In an excerpt from the program " Presidential Certificate ," broadcast by LCP on Friday, November 13, the National Rally candidate for the 2027 presidential election revisits one of her most controversial past proposals. When questioned by Noa from "The Political Smile" about decisions she regrets in her career, she answers frankly: "Yes, I long advocated for a ban on dual nationality." Before acknowledging: "I think I made a mistake." A noteworthy statement from a politician who had long made nationality a central issue in her platform.

Marine Le Pen explains today why she considers this earlier proposal a mistake. "By saying that, I gave the impression to those with dual nationality that I harbored a certain suspicion regarding their love or commitment to France ," she acknowledges. The MP now believes there is no reason to doubt the attachment to their country of French citizens who also hold another nationality, often inherited from their parents. "I have withdrawn this proposal, and I think I did the right thing," she adds. These remarks contrast sharply with the discourse she used, notably in 2014, when she stated, regarding French-Algerian dual nationals, that one had to choose between being French and Algerian.

A proposal abandoned as early as the 2022 presidential election.

This change of position is not new, however. During the 2017 presidential election, Marine Le Pen still proposed abolishing dual nationality for citizens of countries outside the European Union. The measure was among the 144 commitments in her platform. But five years later, it had disappeared from her proposals for the 2022 election. The candidate explained at the time that her position had evolved through contact with dual-national French citizens, citing in particular the example of people holding Moroccan nationality, which they cannot always legally renounce. This reversal sometimes caused confusion within her own party. In June 2024, Sébastien Chenu again mentioned the abolition of dual nationality before clarifying that Marine Le Pen had abandoned this measure and did not intend to revisit it.

By publicly acknowledging this mea culpa just months before the 2027 presidential election, Marine Le Pen confirms a shift in her rhetoric on national identity. The National Rally continues to advocate for significantly stricter conditions for acquiring French citizenship, particularly through challenges to birthright citizenship, but no longer proposes requiring dual nationals to renounce their other nationality. The party has, however, defended restrictions on access for certain dual nationals to positions considered sensitive, a matter distinct from the possession of two passports.