France is surrounded by an aura of romance. Sunny Beaches, European standards of living and cities that are centers of art and culture are attractive and offer a lot of opportunities for development. It is not surprising that so many people dream of finding their soul mate here and starting life from scratch. But an official marriage in France is a serious event that requires careful preparation.
Love and law: features of marriage legislation in France
Don't be fooled by the romantic atmosphere of France if you intend to get married here in no time. The country's legislation is quite pedantic and does not allow liberties. In order to prevent bureaucratic pitfalls from ruining the best day of your life, the ZagraNitsa portal has prepared an overview of the important nuances and features of French marriage legislation
Having decided that you are imagining your wedding ceremony only in France, do not forget about the bureaucratic component. Only in an ideal world would the bride and groom prepare for the holiday by choosing the most beautiful angle for a photo shoot on the banks of the Seine. In order to prevent your dream from being shattered by harsh reality, we suggest that you understand in advance what requirements local legislative bodies have for newlyweds.
Relatives are not allowed entry
The French know how to flatter, come up with a beautiful name and thereby make an impression: their mother-in-law is belle maman (“beautiful mother”). And my mother already becomes shallow from just such an address and admires her son-in-law. Belles mamans - mothers-in-law and other relatives - are given their due, but they are not allowed into their family life deeply. The French are not at all “mama’s boys”, as is commonly believed about other Mediterranean nations, and are not under the influence of their mother for the rest of their lives. There is only one woman in their life - la femme, that is, the wife. And no mother - neither yours nor his - can invade your home with her own rules. And this, perhaps, is the rule for a happy and harmonious family life.
Official marriage in France
Marriage becomes legal only after a civil ceremony, which is held at the city hall. After this “obligatory program”, the couple can organize a religious, outdoor ceremony - in general, any form of celebration of their love that they prefer.
There is no such wording as “civil marriage” in French law. But a similar form of relationship is provided for in the joint property agreement. Certain provisions of this contract allow you to calmly divide your joint property in the event of separation. In some cases, couples who entered into marriage in this form are considered to be officially married.
Photo: Shutterstock
The Pact of Civil Solidarity (Pacte Civil de Solidarité, abbreviated as PACS) is intended to protect the rights of partners (for example, in relation to renting an apartment).
PACS originally envisioned equality for heterosexuals and homosexuals. This made it one of the arguments of opponents of legal same-sex marriage - they say, all rights are respected.
Selective tolerance
Same-sex marriage has been officially legal in France since 2013. After a long struggle for their rights, the LGBT movement celebrated victory. Despite a number of protests and discussions in society, representatives of sexual minorities have the right to legalize their relationships.
One of the features of same-sex marriage in France is a clause in the law. According to it, citizens of 11 countries cannot register such relationships, even while in France.
Citizens of Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Kosovo, Laos, Morocco, Montenegro, Poland, Serbia, Slovenia, and Tunisia are deprived of the right to officially enter into a same-sex marriage in France. All these countries have signed a special bilateral agreement with France.
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Pre-wedding preparation
The civil ceremony should take place at the city hall of the locality where you or your future spouse are registered. Since 2013, it is possible to register a marriage at the place of registration of one of the newlyweds’ parents. You can find the address and other contacts of the city hall convenient for you on the Internet.
If you're planning a ceremony in a cozy suburb, keep in mind: most provincial city halls are so small that they only have one registrar and his work schedule is very strange.
French law takes issues of monogamy very seriously. You must confirm that you are free from marital obligations to other people. This often involves an interview at the town hall (with the bride and groom together or separately).
Then the mayor's office will publish a special document that officially confirms your intention to get married. This is necessary so that anyone who knows about the existence of a legal obstacle to the wedding (for example, that you are not divorced) can notify the registrar about it.
If one or both of you are not French, the preparation period takes a minimum of four weeks. This means that you won’t be able to register on impulse—the date is chosen in advance.
Photo: Shutterstock
The required documents for registering a marriage in France are:
- ID card (passport);
- birth certificate. It must be issued no later than three months before the date of registration if issued in France, or no later than six months if issued abroad. In the latter case, confirmation of its legality in France will be required (for example, an apostille);
- proof of residential address (for example, a rental agreement);
- confirmation of citizenship;
- proof of civil status. You need to obtain a special certificate from the embassy - Certificat de Capacité Matrimoniale. And if you were already married, also provide divorce papers or a death certificate of the previous spouse;
- notarial certificate (only for marriage contract);
- family book (Livret de Famille). This is usually required if you have already had a child in France;
- information about future newlyweds from four people.
Since 2013, a medical certificate is no longer needed for registration!
If you are not a French citizen, you may additionally need a Certificate de Coutume from your embassy. It guarantees that the marriage will be valid both in France and in your home country.
Marriage to a French citizen will not automatically grant you French citizenship. We'll have to wait another two years.
The ceremony must take place in the city hall, in a room accessible to the public, no earlier than 10 days, but no later than one year after the registration permit is issued by the municipality. If you wait more than three months, you may have to provide new copies of your birth certificates. The mayor or other official from the municipality will preside over the ceremony.
Germany
If you want to marry a resident of Germany, you must remember that the registry offices of this country have a high degree of independence. Therefore, the list of documents may differ for each region and the circumstances of the couple’s life.
First, the groom must contact the registry office at his place of residence and find out what documents are needed. After the entire list has been collected, they are sent to the groom’s address so that he can apply for marriage registration.
Pre-nuptial agreements
Generally, property acquired during marriage is considered community property (Régime Légal de Communauté Réduite aux Acquêts), but property acquired before marriage is not. In addition, if there is no written will, the widow immediately receives half of the common property, as well as a share in the second half in equal proportions with the children of the deceased spouse.
A marriage contract (Contrat de Mariage) in France can be concluded only before registration. And then bring to the mayor’s office a certificate from the notary who certified this agreement.
The French do not very often enter into prenuptial agreements at the time of marriage. In this case, the regime of joint ownership is matrimonial. If a prenuptial agreement is entered into, it is most often a document of separate ownership of property. When registering it, you must keep in mind that if during a marriage property is purchased with funds received, for example, from the sale of property that belonged to one of the spouses before marriage, the purchase will be considered to belong only to this spouse. It should also be noted that the marital regime and, accordingly, the contract must be adapted throughout the married life. This will move you from the division of property at the beginning of the marriage to the so-called “surviving spouse” regime, which allows you to transfer all property to the remaining spouse and only after the death of the latter - to children or other heirs
Caring French fathers
Why are many girls from Russia and other CIS countries so eager to get married in France?
One of the reasons for this is that the French are much more likely to be involved with their children! Many Russian dads believe that women should take care of children, period. If the father of the family brings home some money, then he will definitely consider his function fulfilled and exceeded. Babysitting the baby, taking him to the clinic and kindergarten, giving vaccinations, cooking porridge, taking him to school, and so on - all this is often considered the function and “monopoly” of the mother. However, in France the situation is different, here you can meet fathers who are very actively running around with their children in different children's sections, reading a book in the hallway while their beloved child is dancing or drawing. Such dads can take sick leave if their child is unwell. It would seem, why not - but in the CIS countries they will not understand this. “What about mom?” Only single fathers will be understood if they do not go to work due to some “children’s” problems. But in France, on the contrary, mothers often spend much less time with their children and devote more time to their careers, as well as entertainment, going to the movies, restaurants, and so on.
It would seem a wonderful life for a woman who decided to get married in France!
The father will cook porridge for the child and take him to kindergarten, and the woman will have time for herself, her beloved.
However, not everything is so ideal, because French legislation is also always on the side of fathers. During a divorce, a woman has almost no opportunity to ensure that the child is left with her - just as in Russia the father has almost no such opportunity. If the mother of a French child is a foreigner who came to live in France for permanent residence and decided to get married here, then the chances are almost zero. By the way, when you are going to get married in France, discuss in advance and write down in the marriage contract who the children will remain with in the event of a divorce, even if you do not have any children now and do not plan to.
But if you don’t go to extremes, then life in France
it is more comfortable with the child, because the father will really take care of the baby, and with the reasonable participation of the mother in this, the child will be truly happy and not deprived of either maternal or paternal love. And also, the boy will not form a stereotype that the future child will simply need to be pinned on a woman, and that’s all. And the girl will not have the stereotype that men “only need one thing,” and then get out of it the way you want and raise and serve the children yourself - in the person of her father, she will see an example of a responsible person who does not disappear all day at work or who knows where, and taking part in family life.
The relationship between a man and a woman comes first
For the French, the family is, first of all, the relationship between a man and a woman, and children are an important, but still derivative of this union. Look at French romantic comedies (and the French are recognized masters of making films about love): men and women, husbands and wives fall in love with them, get married, cheat on each other - without much regard for the children. (An excellent example from a recent comedy is “He and She” in Russian distribution and “Monsieur and Madame Adelman” in the original.)
Still from the film “He and She”, 2017
Of course, there are always children in the family, they are loved and significant, but there is no cult of children when family life is subordinated to children's wants and needs. Children should know their place - to go to bed, for example, on time, so that parents have time for each other. Public spaces, such as hotel rooms or apartments at resorts, clearly demonstrate that the family has a priority: the most space is occupied by the living room, often playing the role of a dining room, then the bedroom for the parents - and somewhere in a nook, sometimes even behind a curtain and without windows, there is a two-story children's bed.
And this model of family relationships, when the interests of parents, their time and personal space are put at the forefront, is actually good for children - parents who have not lost interest in each other are able to create a harmonious and happy atmosphere for them.
About the appearance of Frenchmen and Frenchwomen
There are really a lot of myths and stereotypes here; let’s try to at least partially dispel them and shed light on the true situation.
As for the French, these are people who are very scrupulous about their appearance. A Frenchman will never leave the house without ironing his trousers. They may be inexpensive, these pants, but they are sure to be clean and nice. Moreover, it doesn’t matter where the Frenchman goes - for the majority of representatives of this nation it will always be important to maintain a presentable appearance.
French men also wear a scarf. The French are often depicted with a scarf and a beret, but a beret is more of a stereotype, but they really love a scarf. Moreover, it is very practical and comfortable, and can be worn not only as protection from the cold, but also as a fashion accessory.
As for French women, they know how to dress very stylishly when they want, but it cannot be said that they do it often. In everyday life, a French woman, leaving the house, can put on an ordinary sweater or the first jeans she comes across. Residents of France are proud of their independence and freedom, so they basically do not wear long heels, short skirts and many other things that men traditionally like. Moreover, many people don’t even wear makeup to look “natural.” But French men still give compliments, no matter what outfit the girl is wearing. This often surprises those who come to live in France for permanent residence.
. If you live in France, you will be able to receive compliments without even doing anything special for it. And this is another reason why it is worth coming to this wonderful country.
Boredom will come into your life
French orderliness has another feature: the French are a nation of bores. They even joke that they are always dissatisfied with everything. “The French are Italians in a bad mood,” they once told me in Italy, and there is pure truth about the frequent bad mood of their Italian neighbors. Spontaneity, surprises, unexpected actions, beautiful gestures - this is not the French approach to business. Therefore, they are worthless “dream lovers”.
Boringness gives rise to attention to detail; it is no coincidence that the French language is much more structured than English, and has fewer exceptions to the rules. A French husband also always pays attention to details, remembers dresses and shoes from your wardrobe.
On the one hand, this attitude towards you is pleasant. On the other hand, it can be tiring. Every time I want to break one of my habits and, for example, eat not a chausson aux pomme (apple puff) for breakfast, but an almond croissant, my husband will be surprised for a long time and clarify whether I am sure of the consequences of such a desperate act, not Will I ruin my whole day?
