Long wait for French nationality

You need patience if you apply for French nationality.  Sendng off the documents and getting a letter to say you'd forgotten one or two and that they need an oficial translation, a few visits to the Préfecture of your département, the inevitable interview in French with unexpected questions about France, its geography, culture and way of life are all part of the process.

More than five years later, you will get a letter from the Ministre de l'Intérieur to say yes, you now have French nationality and within the next 6 months you will receive an invitation to the Préfecture to concretize the fact.  Well, I was expecting a solemn ceremony with maybe a glass of champagne and a few petits-fours but no, it was just a lady behind the glass partition who handed over a cardboard file with documents including the words of La Marseillaise, and the declaration "Droits de l'Homme".  Patience is vital so hang on in there everyone.  They also return the original documents you submitted ...