Preparing for the entretien d'assimilation

The entretien d'assimilation is an individual interview with an agent of the préfecture's naturalisation service. Its official purpose is to check your assimilation into the French community, in particular your adherence to the essential principles and values of the Republic. It is also where your spoken French is heard in a real conversation.

Service-public.gouv.fr recommends the Livret du citoyen to prepare. A new version was approved by an arrêté of 3 July 2026.

• Consistency: your answers should match your file (dates, addresses, employment, family)
• Sincerity: explain your attachment to France in your own words; learned speeches are easy to spot
• Values: show that you understand and accept laïcité, equality between women and men, and the rule of law, including in concrete family situations
• French: you should follow a natural conversation and answer in full sentences

• The motto, the symbols (flag, Marianne, La Marseillaise, 14 July) and Article 1 of the Constitution
• Key dates: 1789, 1792 (First Republic), 1905, 1944 (women's vote), 18 June 1940, 8 May 1945, 1958 (Fifth Republic), 1981 (abolition of the death penalty)
• Institutions: President (5 years), Prime Minister, Parliament (Assemblée nationale and Sénat), mayor, prefect, the European Union
• Geography: main rivers, mountain ranges, regions, overseas territories
• Your rights and duties as a future citizen (vote, taxes, defence, respect of the law)

Arrive early with all your originals. Speak calmly and honestly; if you do not know an answer, say so rather than guessing wildly. Never give answers that contradict your file. The AI practice interview on this site is a training tool only: the real interview's content and outcome are decided by the préfecture.