An impact report on the law for the upper house of parliament, the Senat, suggested it would be applied to more than 330,000 people in the first year, with about 60,000 of them expected to fail the language tests and have their right to remain in France withdrawn.
An impact report on a new immigration law expected to come into force before the end of the year suggested the stricter requirements could lead to 60,000 people being refused permission to remain in France.
Félix Guyon of the Thot school that helps refugees and asylum seekers learn French said: “The level is far too high for most foreigners who are seeking nationality or papers to stay for a long period in France.”.
It sent 10 French volunteers, including a literature student with five years of post-baccalauréat higher education, to sit the tests those seeking French nationality will face.
The text states anyone applying for nationality must “provide evidence of a level of language enabling them to at least understand the essential context of concrete or abstract subjects in a complex test, to communicate spontaneously and to express themselves clearly and in detail on a wide variety of subjects”.
