34 
The Department has been informed' that per¬ 
sons born in the United States of French 
parents who wish to retain their American 
citizenship and renounce their French citizen¬ 
ship under the provisions of article IX(3) of 
the French nationality law of August 10, 1927, 
may do so by addressing a petition to- the 
French Ministry of Justice. It appears that 
under the law mentioned such persons need not 
have reached their majority. Inquiry should 
be made at a French consulate as to the pro¬ 
cedure which should be followed in making the 
petition. 
(&) Persons born in France who acquired 
naturalization as American citizens 
before they were declared to be defaulters 
The Department understands that persons 
coming within this class are considered relieved 
from military obligations in France if they 
have complied with the military laws of the 
United States, and may return and sojourn 
temporarily in France. However, before re¬ 
turning to that country it is necessary for them 
to obtain special authorization from the French 
Embassy in Washington in which the period of 
time they will be permitted to reside in France 
will be fixed. 
* Concerning persons who have been exempt 
from military service in the United States by 
reason of physical disability, the French Gov¬ 
ernment states that such persons will not be 
finally removed from the delinquent lists unless 
they have also been “ considered by a physician 
35 
designated by the French Embassy as unfit for 
military service in France.” 
(c) Persons born in France who acquired 
American nationality after having been 
declared defaulters 
These persons shall be treated as follows: 
(1) The pre-war delinquents cannot return 
to France without risk of being held to answer 
to the charges of delinquency, and their status 
can be established only by means of judicial 
decisions following their arrests. 
(2) Men who were declared delinquent after 
the commencement of hostilities and who can 
prove that they entered the service of the 
American Army prior to the declaration of 
delinquency, may have their names removed 
from the delinquency rolls, but if occasion arises 
they may be called again to serve in the French 
Army the balance of the time due after deduc¬ 
tion of the time of their service in the American 
Army. 
The status of all others may be determined 
by military courts, which will take into con¬ 
sideration the duration of service in, the Ameri¬ 
can Army, conduct under fire, and any circum¬ 
stances which might have prevented such per¬ 
sons from fulfilling the requirements of the 
French military law. 
C. Natives of France Who Acquire American 
Citizenship Through the Naturalization 
of a Parent 
A minor son whose French parents acquire 
naturalization in the United States and who is 
himself naturalized by the same act according 
to the American naturalization laws is not con¬ 
sidered by the French authorities to have lost 
