Can foreigners grandchildren obtain French nationality from their grandparents?

In this case, a foreign-born woman claims French nationality from her paternal grandmother. That step requires proof of possession of a French state, that is to say, the fact that the person concerned considered herself to be a French woman and was treated and regarded as such by the public authorities. The descendant thus provides as evidence of that possession of a state a certificate of French nationality, a Vitale d’Assurance Maladie card and two public transport passes belonging to her grandmother, used in France.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office opposes recognition of such a request under article 30 (3) of the Civil Code. According to this text: "when an individual resides or has habitually resided abroad, where the ascendants whose nationality he holds by filiation have remained fixed for more than half a century, this individual will not be allowed to prove that he has, by filiation, French nationality, if he and that of his father and mother who was likely to transmit it to him have not had the possession of French state". According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, she cannot apply for French nationality because she is based abroad, where her parents themselves have resided for more than 50 years.

This reasoning is rejected by the Court of Cassation, as the granddaughter produced evidence of her grandmother’s presence in France for several years from 2005 and of the French state possession of her ascendant.