PARIS, FRANCE.- A document has come to light that proves that Pablo Picasso wanted to have the French nationality, something he always denied. On April 3, 1940, Pablo Picasso applied to become a French citizen, but the application was denied because of his political activities. Picasso had been an anarchist in his youth and later a communist. Picasso also kept most of his money out of France.
Pierre Daix and Armand Israel, two historians and specialists on Picasso and Braque are just about to publish a book with this information. The French weekly L´Express published a summary of the French police information on Picasso. The file had been taken first by the Nazis and later by the Russians. The KGB gave the files back to France in 2000. A very important document in this file is the application for the French citizenship by Pablo Picasso in 1940. The German army was about to go into France on May 10. An anonymous inspector  concludes on the matter: "The sum of all the information on the subject (Pablo Picaso) tells us that he does not qualify for the French citizenship he requests".