The preposition “depuis” is used to indicate an action that started in the past and continues into the present.
It’s equivalent to “since” or “for” in English.
In this sentence, “1989” is a point in time — so “depuis 1989” means “since 1989.”
Let’s examine a few examples:
— Elle habite ici depuis 2010. (She has been living here since 2010.)
— Je travaille dans cette entreprise depuis deux ans. (I’ve been working at this company for two years.)
Grammatical rule:
Use “depuis” + present tense (not past tense!) to describe ongoing actions that began in the past.
This is different from “pendant” (used for completed time spans) or “il y a” (used for events that are over).
Therefore, the correct sentence is: Nicolas habite en France depuis1989.