FRANCE Law and Practice Contributed by: Elodie Mulon, Emmanuelle Bonboire-Barthélémy and Louise Astruc Baciotti, Chauveau Mulon & Associés
Religious marriage and divorce Religious marriages celebrated abroad can be recognised in France if the celebration complies with the law of the state where the marriage has been celebrated and is not contrary to French international public policy (eg, in terms of the age of the spouses). In French law, a religious marriage must be preceded by a civil marriage, failing which the minister of worship who con - ducts the marriage could face six months of imprisonment and a fine of EUR7,500. Religious divorces pronounced abroad can be recognised in France if their effects do not vio - late French international public order, particularly gender equality. Judicial separation (Articles 296 et seq of the Civil Code) Legal separation ( séparation de corps ) allows spouses to remain married while terminating the duty of cohabitation. Legal separation is often sought by couples who do not wish to divorce for religious or cultural reasons. Legal separation can be established by a pri - vate agreement deposited with a notary or by a court judgment. It can be requested on the same grounds and conditions as divorce (Article 296 of the Civil Code). In case of legal separation, the duty of support persists, and the judgment of legal separation or the mutual consent legal separation agreement may stipulate that one spouse must pay alimony ( devoir de secours ) to the other (Article 303 of the Civil Code). Legal separation always entails the separation of the spouses’ assets (Article 302 of the Civil Code).
Upon the death of one of the legally separated spouses, the surviving spouse retains the rights granted by law to the surviving spouse (Article 301 of the Civil Code), unless otherwise stipu - lated in the agreement. The resumption of common life by the spous - es terminates legal separation. However, to be opposable to third parties, the resumption of common life must be recorded by a notarial act or declared to the civil registry (Article 305 of the Civil Code). When legal separation has lasted two years, one of the spouses can request the conver - sion of the legal separation judgment into a divorce judgment (Article 306 of the Civil Code). This also applies if legal separation has been mutually agreed upon. In this case, one spouse can request its conversion into mutual consent divorce. Nullity In the event of non-compliance with essen - tial marriage conditions, the marriage can be annulled. However, to ensure the legal stability of personal status, only the most severe violations of validity conditions result in marriage nullity. To secure the institution of marriage, not all nul - lities follow the same regime. Some are relative (can be raised by persons designated by law), and others are absolute nullities (can be raised by any person with an interest). Relative nullities (Article 180 of the Civil Code) include: • lack of free consent from both or one of the spouses; • the exertion of coercion on both or one of the spouses; and
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