France Gives Citizenship to Over 2,000 Foreign Healthcare Workers

 France has granted citizenship to over 2,000 foreign healthcare workers who had effectively contributed" to the fight against Covid-19.

In a step to encourage foreign medical workers to skimp on their public health efforts, the French junior interior minister in charge of citizenship Marlene Schiappa had instructed the authorities in September to speed up the citizenship applications of essential workers who had "actively contributed" to the fight against the awful virus.

On this basis, France has granted citizenship to over 2,000 foreign-born frontline workers to reward them for their services to the nation during the coronavirus pandemic, the government declared Wednesday.

In this regard, French authorities had ordered that they be allowed to apply for citizenship after just two years in France, instead of the usual requirement of five years.

According to an official statement by Schiappa, the French official said that 2,009 people, including 665 minors, had been fast-tracked for naturalization for "showing their attachment to the nation."

"Nearly 8,000 people have applied for French citizenship under the scheme," the statement added.

Notably, those involved include health workers, security guards, checkout workers, garbage collectors, home-care providers, and nannies, according to French media.