FRANCE Law and Practice Contributed by: Elodie Mulon, Emmanuelle Bonboire-Barthélémy and Louise Astruc Baciotti, Chauveau Mulon & Associés
Chauveau Mulon & Associés 27, rue Duret 75116 Paris France Tel: +33 1 42 68 24 24 Email: cabinet@cm-associes.com Web: www.cm-associes.com
1. Divorce 1.1 Grounds, Timeline, Service and Process Grounds for Divorce In France, there are four grounds for divorce, applicable to both same-sex and opposite-sex couples. • Alteration définitive du lien conjugal – when filing for divorce, the spouses must have ceased cohabitation for one year (Article 237/238 of the Civil Code). • Acceptation du principe de la rupture du mar- iage sans considération des faits à l’origine de celle-ci – either or both spouses can request divorce without contesting the grounds. Once accepted, divorce cannot be retracted, even through an appeal (Article 233 of the Civil Code). • Divorce pour faute – this can be requested by one spouse when there is a serious and repeated violation of marital duties by the other spouse, making continued cohabitation intolerable (Article 242 of the Civil Code). • Divorce par consentement mutuel par acte sous signature privée contresigné par avocat déposé au rang des minutes du notaire – mutual consent divorce by private agreement,
countersigned by lawyers and deposited with a notary (Article 229-1 of the Civil Code). Grounds for Civil Partnership Dissolution A civil solidarity pact can be dissolved through the death of one partner, the marriage of one or both of the partners or by joint declaration or the unilateral decision of one partner (Article 515 of the Civil Code). Unlike divorce, there is no specific foundation for dissolution similar to divorce grounds. Partners can dissolve the pact by jointly declar - ing it to the civil registry or the notary who recorded it. If only one partner decides to dis - solve the pact, they must serve a unilateral dec - laration on the other partner and provide a copy to the civil registry or notary. Divorce Process and Service of Proceedings Out-of-court divorce When spouses agree on divorce principles and consequences, they can formalise the agree - ment in a convention drafted by their lawyers, signed by both parties, countersigned by law - yers, and registered with a notary (Article 229-1 of the Civil Code). Spouses cannot opt for mutual consent divorce if one of the minor children requests to be heard
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