In 2018, the singer Gims would have taken advantage of a meeting with Brigitte Macron to ask her to help him in his naturalization process, reveals Le Parisien.
Gims and France, it’s a long story. He arrived in the country in 1988, when he was only two years old, after his family fled the Democratic Republic of Congo. The singer never had the French nationality, it is however not for lack of having tried, as an investigation by the Parisian, published this Sunday, January 23. From 2013, Gims launched steps to be naturalized but nothing is done. Even the support of the Minister of Culture at the time, Aurélie Filippetti, was not enough. In 2018, he tried his luck again and takes advantage of a meeting with Brigitte Macron to ask her to help her. However, the attempt fails again.
Nearby Sunday newspaper of January 23, Gims evokes the reasons: “Apparently, the refusal is related to an offense that I allegedly committed when I was a minor“, he explained. “But my locker is blank. I will reapply for nationality. I’m a very patient person, not one to give up..”
> Discover photos of Gims and his wife Demdem, in Cannes
“It’s one of my biggest regrets“
If Gims lived all his childhood in France, he could never be officially French. Today, the singer lives in Marrakech, Morocco, but he does not despair of one day obtaining the precious sesame : “It’s one of my biggest regrets, he explained to JDD. All my memories are in France: I was born in Kinshasa but I arrived here when I was two years old. I am French at heart. In my heart I miss him‘the official paper’. But that’s not up to me.”
Nearby Parisian, one of his relatives testified about the situation of the singer, annoyed by this lack: “It’s just painful for him because every time he comes, he has to apply for a visa.” Moreover, Gims is very attached to France: “I am a French flag all by myself. When I travel to Qatar, to the United States… I present myself as a French artist. Not Congolese.”
Article written in collaboration with 6Medias.
Photo credits: Pierre Perusseau / Bestimage