Hollywood star George Clooney and his human rights lawyer wife, Amal, have officially been granted French citizenship, cementing their family's move away from Los Angeles to a quieter life in the south of France.
A New Chapter in Provence
The formal change in status was confirmed by a notification published in the Journal Officiel, the French government's official gazette, on Saturday. The listing included George Timothy Clooney and his wife, noted under her maiden name, Amal Alamuddin. The couple, who married in 2014 and are parents to eight-year-old twins Alexander and Ella, have been vocal about their desire for a more grounded upbringing for their children.
Their new life centres on a sprawling 425-acre estate in Provence, purchased in 2021 for a reported $8.3 million. The property features an 18th-century mansion, a swimming pool, tennis courts, vast gardens, and an ornamental lake. More importantly for Clooney, it operates as a working farm.
"A good portion of my life growing up was on a farm, and as a kid, I hated the whole idea of it. But now, for them, it’s like – they’re not on their iPads, you know?" Clooney told Esquire in an interview last October. "They have dinner with grown-ups and have to take their dishes in. They have a much better life." The farm boasts 100 acres of vines, 1,200 olive trees, and even a tractor which the actor uses to drive his children around.
Escaping the Hollywood Spotlight
The primary driver for the move, as Clooney has repeatedly stated, is a profound concern for his family's privacy and safety. "I was worried about raising our kids in LA, in the culture of Hollywood," he explained. "I felt like they were never going to get a fair shake at life. France, they kind of don’t give a s*** about fame."
He has been particularly critical of the intrusive paparazzi culture endemic to Los Angeles, contrasting it sharply with French law. "Here, they don’t take photos of kids. There aren’t any paparazzi hidden at the school gates. That’s number one for us," Clooney told RTL radio in December.
French legislation offers robust protections, requiring consent before a person's image can be published, even in public places. These rules are especially stringent for minors, with unauthorised photography or publication carrying potential criminal penalties.
A Long-Standing Commitment to Privacy
This is not the first time the Clooneys have taken a stand to shield their children. In 2021, George penned an open letter to the media, asking outlets to "refrain" from using photographs of his twins. "I am a public figure and accept the oftentimes intrusive photos as part of the price to pay for doing my job," he wrote. "Our children have made no such commitment."
The couple's concerns are compounded by the nature of Amal's work as a barrister, which often involves prosecuting terrorist groups. "We take as much precaution as we can to keep our family safe," Clooney has noted. The acquisition of French citizenship and their secluded life in Provence appears to be the culmination of a deliberate strategy to provide their family with anonymity, security, and a semblance of normalcy far from the glare of Tinseltown.
