Boris Johnson’s father says he will seek French citizenship hours before Brexit

Johnson, a former member of the European Parliament, told French radio station RTL that he would „always be European” in an interview broadcast on Thursday.

„It’s not a matter of becoming French. If you understand correctly, I am French,” he told RTL in French, referring to his family’s connection to the country.

About the decision to acquire French citizenship, he said: „My mother was born in France, and her mother was French just as her grandfather was. So it is for me to regain what I already have.” „So I’m very happy.”

Britain officially leaves the single market and the European Union’s customs union when the transition period ends at 11 PM GMT (6 PM ET) on New Year’s Eve.

The post-Brexit trade agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom came into effect at that time, following the two sides I agreed to a last-minute deal. But most Britons will start 2021 losing their ability to operate freely and travel around the 27-nation bloc.

Stanley Johnson insisted that Brexit would not mark the end of European identity for him or the English people. Johnson told RTL: „I will always be a European, that’s for sure. Nobody can tell the English, ‘You are not a European.'”

„Europe is always more than the common market, it is more than the European Union,” he added. „But even so, yes, it is important to have such a link with the European Union.”

The prime minister’s father has often found himself in the headlines since his son began his tenure. In July, he was criticized for traveling to Greece while the UK was in lockdown. And last December – the night his son won a landslide election – it was Stanley Johnson Accused of making an anti-Islam statement on television.