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- Stanley Johnson, the father of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, is applying for French citizenship.
- Stanley said he has family ties to Europe.
- The UK officially leaves the EU on Thursday night.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s father said on Thursday he was in the process of applying for a French passport to maintain his ties with the European Union after Brexit.
Stanley Johnson, a former member of the European Parliament who voted to Remain in the 2016 British referendum, told RTL radio that he wanted to become a French citizen due to strong family ties to France.
“If I understand it correctly, I am French. My mother was born in France, her mother was totally French like her grandfather. So for me it is about recovering what I already have. And that makes me very happy,” said Johnson, 80 years old, who spoke in French.
“I will always be European, that’s for sure. You cannot tell the British: they are not European. Having a link with the European Union is important,” he added.
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His son Boris was the public face of the Leave campaign in the 2016 referendum and says Britain can “powerfully prosper” as a fully sovereign nation outside of what he sees as an overly bureaucratic EU.
But on Wednesday, the prime minister issued a more conciliatory note when parliament approved a new trade deal with the EU, saying: “This is not the end of Britain as a European country. We are, in many ways, the quintessential European civilization. … and we will continue to be that. “
The UK officially leaves the EU orbit on Thursday night, after an often strained 48-year relationship with the European project.
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