Renouncing citizenship and meeting your French mayor

Welcome to The Local’s “Americans in France” newsletter for members, featuring all the news and practical information you need as an American resident, visitor or second-home owner in France. You can sign up to receive it directly to your inbox before we publish it online via the link below. 

Dear Americans in France,

March is drawing to a close, and that means that longer, warmer days are on the horizon. It also means that the strange (yet welcome) three-week period where the time difference is an hour shorter between France and the US will also end, with France ‘springing’ forward on Sunday.

I always treasure this time of year – having just one less hour of time difference makes it so much easier to stay connected with family and friends back home.

I want to highlight a few important US-based news stories for Americans in France. The first is the SAVE Act, which we first reported on last year and is now being debated in the Senate, where it faces long odds.

The SAVE Act would require people registering to vote in a federal election to show documentary proof of US citizenship. It would also mean voters must present proof of citizenship (and photo ID) when casting a ballot.

Groups representing Americans abroad have expressed concern that the SAVE Act could significantly increase the difficulty of voting from abroad and potentially require Americans abroad to travel back to the US to cast their votes.

Second, following a campaign by the Association of Accidental Americans, the US State Department has finally announced that it will soon slash the high citizenship renunciation fee by 80 percent. As such, Americans requesting a Certificate of Loss of Nationality (CLN) will, in the future, pay $450 instead of $2,350.

If you’re wondering why someone might want to give up their US nationality, for a lot of people, it has to do with citizenship-based taxation and ongoing US filing requirements.

SEAT (Stop Extraterritorial American Taxation) did a survey in 2021 of Americans considering renouncing their citizenship. Nearly 40 percent of respondents said: “It is too difficult to live subject to two tax systems.”

And on that note, tax season is just around the corner. Americans abroad get an automatic two-month extension to June 15th (with a possible extension to October 15th). French deadlines, however, run from May to early June, depending on where you live.

I spoke with tax adviser and expert Jonathan Hadida of HadTax about which return to file first and the key factors to consider, such as having French income.

As for French news, in the past couple of weeks, France has elected thousands of new mayors and local leaders, as part of the municipal elections, which are held every six years. 

Naturally, the person sitting in the Elysée Palace has a significant impact on the lives of foreigners in France, especially when it comes to questions related to immigration and citizenship rules.

Still, I’d argue that your local councillors and mayor have a greater impact on your day-to-day. Living in Paris, I saw my commute to work radically change in the years Anne Hidalgo held power, as the former mayor oversaw the building of scores of new bicycle lanes across the city.

In rural France, your local mayor might be someone you get to know personally, with the mairie serving as a one-stop shop to find information about building permits and septic tanks, to clubs and social events.

As one election ends, another begins. Here are five key takeaways from the results, plus what they might mean for the 2027 presidential election.

Unlike the municipal elections, where EU citizens can also vote, only French citizens can vote in the presidential election, and it has become more difficult to attain French citizenship. If you did not get the chance to attend our live Q&A about citizenship rules, you can find the answers to readers’ questions HERE.

I like to end with some advice from your fellow Americans in France. M.J. Wilkie in Issy-les-Moulineaux recommends “[getting] acquainted with other Americans (and other nationalities), to share issues and solutions.”

Another reader, Jennifer Parrette, advised that fellow Americans “Look and listen – slow down – take a moment to understand what is really happening, what you might really need, or how to ask for help – the cultural norms about how to approach people are much gentler and less direct than in the US.”