PARIS \u2014 Call them Monsieur and Madame Clooney.<\/p>\n
France\u2019s government says that George Clooney<\/a>, his wife Amal<\/a> and their twins Ella and Alexander have been awarded French citizenship.<\/p>\n The naturalizations of the Kentucky-born star of the \u201cOcean\u2019s\u201d series of heist movies and his family were announced last weekend in the Journal Officiel, where French government decrees are published.<\/p>\n The government notice indicated that human rights lawyer Amal Clooney was naturalized under her maiden name, Amal Alamuddin. It also noted that George Clooney\u2019s middle name is Timothy.<\/p>\n The couple purchased an estate in France in 2021. In an interview with Esquire in October, Clooney described their \u201cfarm in France\u201d as their primary residence \u2014 a decision the 64-year-old actor and his 47-year-old wife made with their children in mind.<\/p>\n \u201cI was worried about raising our kids in L.A., in the culture of Hollywood,\u201d he told the magazine. \u201cI don\u2019t want them to be walking around worried about paparazzi. I don\u2019t want them being compared to somebody else\u2019s famous kids.\u201d<\/p>\n Growing up away from the spotlight in France, \u201cthey\u2019re not on their iPads, you know?\u201d he said. \u201cThey have dinner with grown-ups and have to take their dishes in. They have a much better life.\u201d<\/p>\n Representatives for George Clooney did not respond to The Associated Press\u2019 request for comment Monday. The French government\u2019s Interior Ministry also did not immediately respond to AP questions on Tuesday about the Clooneys\u2019 new citizenship.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t clear whether Clooney retained his American citizenship. Amal Clooney was born in Lebanon and raised in the U.K. The 8-year-old twins were born in London.<\/p>\n In recent media interviews when he was promoting \u201cJay Kelly,\u201d<\/a> Clooney said that he is trying to teach himself French using a language-learning app but that it remains \u201chorrible, horrible.\u201d He said that his wife and children speak the language perfectly.<\/p>\n \u201cThey speak French in front of me so that they can say terrible things about me to my face and I don\u2019t know,\u201d he joked, speaking to French broadcaster Canal+.<\/a><\/p>\n French media have reported that the Clooneys live part-time in their luxury 18th-century villa outside the town of Brignoles in southern France, where they can keep a lower profile and their children are protected from unauthorized photographs by French privacy laws.<\/p>\n Brignoles Mayor Didier Br\u00e9mond told broadcaster BFMTV on Tuesday that the Clooneys are \u201ca very simple and very accessible family\u201d and noted that the actor shops in town and attended the opening of its cinema. Their decision to become French citizens testified to \u201chis love for our country,\u201d the mayor said.<\/p>\n \u201cHere, he wants to live normally and that\u2019s what he is trying to do,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n