French Rock Idol Wants to Become Belgian

The Gallic rock idol Johnny Hallyday, who has sold more than 80m records in France since introducing the country to rock'n'roll in the 1960s, wants to become a Belgian. Belgium's ambassador to Paris, Pierre-Dominique Schmidt, said yesterday that the 62-year-old, born in Paris to a Belgian father and a French mother, "feels at home" in Belgium.

The singer had applied for citizenship in November, Mr Schmidt said. The procedure would involve him giving up his French passport. "It's an emotional thing, he really feels very Belgian," he said.

Hallyday has been seen live by the equivalent of one-third of the French population and has had more than 200 top 10 hits. Outside France, Belgium and Switzerland, however, his success is a mystery: he has sold barely a record in Britain.

The news came as public prosecutors asked for an outstanding rape case against Hallyday to be dropped. A former hostess had alleged that the singer raped her on a yacht off Cannes in 2001, which he has denied. It also follows the singer's switch this month to the Warner label after an acrimonious departure from Universal, where he has recorded for 40 years. The move prompted speculation that he may be planning to go into tax exile in Belgium.

Still growling les blues with as much passion as he did in the 60s, when Charles de Gaulle suggested fans should be forced into road gangs because they had too much energy, Hallyday last year released France's fastest-selling single.

But French fans are unlikely to forgive his plans to adopt the nationality of its most widely mocked neighbour. "Vive l'Europe!" said the culture minister, Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres. "But for me, he's French."