Adultery in France

Adultery in France:Punishment for Adultery in France, Adultery Laws in France, Is Adultery a Crime in France,Are Extramarital Affairs Common in France,Adultery in France Divorce. The French seem not to mind infidelity, as it is common practice in the country.

Adultery in France:Punishment for Adultery in France, Adultery Laws in France, Is Adultery a Crime in France,Are Extramarital Affairs Common in France,Adultery in France Divorce
Adultery in France:Punishment for Adultery in France, Adultery Laws in France, Is Adultery a Crime in France,Are Extramarital Affairs Common in France,Adultery in France Divorce

According to Aziz Ansari’s new book on modern romance, “Modern Romance,” 55% of French men and 32% of French women admitted to cheating on their spouses or significant others in a study conducted by the French Institute of Public Opinion in 2014.

Adultery has many benefits for the French, such as: keeping the marriage young, and keeping the couple active sexually.  The freedom to do what one wants and with whom one wants.

Passing one’s genes on to as many places as possible, more gifts for kids during the holidays.  The hotel and restaurant industries benefit from having a willing spouse when their spouse has a headache, is sick, is travelling, or is simply not in the mood.

Punishment for Adultery in France

As with the entry procedure before enclosure, whipping, head shaving, and parading an adulteress through the streets are common punishments for adulterous women. She might be returned to her husband or kept in confinement forever.

In addition, canonists regarded adultery as inclusive of men and even argued that a husband’s infidelity is worse than adultery. Nevertheless, most canonists, in practice, focused mainly on women, and not on cheating husbands. Adultery was punished with whipping in Southern France for both men and women.

Despite not punishing adulterous wives by enclosure in the 15th century, parliament did call for punishment for those who killed their husbands by enclosure. Before the 16th century, a woman who had not committed adultery and murder was not enclosed. “Nothing to the contrary has been established”.

Adultery Laws in France

A French court has ruled that a dating site for extramarital affairs has the right to advertise its services and that couples are not bound by their civil codes to remain faithful to each other.

Since 1975, adultery has never been a crime in France, but the association says the ads are “publicly promoting infidelity and cheating.” The association says the ads are a clear incitement to disrespect the French civil code, which protects marriage and stipulates “mutual respect, fidelity, assistance, and help between spouses.” 

Is Adultery a Crime in France

A woman or man who is found not to be engaging in adultery will face a jail sentence of up to three years and a fine of up to 70000 euros under the recently enacted National Adultery Act. Any husband or wife who turns themselves in without having sex outside their marriage is also entitled to a seven-thousand-euro fine.

Are Extramarital Affairs Common in France

It’s an enduring stereotype that doesn’t seem to go away: French people are very libertine about their sexual lives. It doesn’t help that literature and popular culture are full of French characters with a laissez-faire attitude toward sex. Here are a few examples: the Vicomte de Valmont, the Marquis de Sade, Brigitte Bardot, Dominique Strauss-Kahn. For crying out loud, even Pepe le Pew.

A cliche like this isn’t entirely without merit. French citizens, for example, tend to view their leaders’ extramarital affairs with a somewhat relaxed attitude.

From 1895 to 1899, Felix Faure was president of France. He died of apoplexy at the Elysée Palace during a sexual interlude with his mistress between work appointments. At president Mitterrand’s funeral, both his wife and mistress, as well as their children, were present. A notorious affair involving actress Julie Gayet has recently surfaced involving sitting French President Francois Hollande. 

It is possible that the French have one of the most permissive views on affairs and casual flings in Europe, which are accepted as something that happens throughout life, if one is lucky.

One-third of men and half of women in France believe that sex and love are two separate things; a quarter of French believe that transitory infidelity can facilitate love, and two-thirds of men and women think sex and love are separate matters, and two-thirds of women think sex and love are two separate things.

Flings and affairs are five times more beneficial to the French (their closest rivals in hedonism) than they are to the Italians. In France, it has been estimated that roughly 25% of men and women are engaged in casual affairs or flings at any given time.

In France, national surveys of sexual attitudes and behaviour automatically include a chapter on affairs and how they are conducted (unlike their staid British counterparts). According to surveys, the first two years of a relationship are considered a ‘honeymoon’ period, but affairs may begin anytime afterward, for both men and women, in their first and subsequent marriages, at any age.

Valerie Trierweiler, Hollande’s partner, is understandably upset, to the point of withdrawing to a hospital, so the media allegations are hardly surprising.

While Hollande was still known as Segolene Royal’s long-term partner, the mother of his four children, his political ally and rival at the same time, she began a serious affair with him.

Nevertheless, most affairs in continental countries are what I describe as “playfairs” – quick distractions from day-to-day obligations and responsibilities.

These affairs usually do not lead to a divorce. It has indeed become an art form for the French, with customs involving romantic dinners, elegant lunches, gifts, and weekend trips to luxurious, exotic locales like Venice or Istanbul. The lure of an exciting weekend getaway in an attractive location always secured a seduction, according to a Frenchman.

Adultery in France Divorce

The law introduced the sexual double standard: women could be divorced for simple adultery, while men could be convicted of adultery only if they brought their mistress into their homes.

Divorce procedures also became more complicated and expensive under the law. In fact, these changes in the law had the desired effect: they strengthened patriarchal authority in the family and they drastically reduced the number of divorces to roughly one-tenth of what they were before.

After 1803, women continued to outnumber men as petitioners in divorce cases despite their disadvantage under the new law. It is not surprising that women were less satisfied with marriage since it placed them socially, economically, and even physically under the tutelage of their husbands.

When the monarchy returned to France in 1816, divorce was abolished completely. Roman Catholicism was once again the state religion as a result of Louis XVII, and couples who weren’t happy with their marriages had no option other than judicial separation.

Following the fall of the Bourbons in the July Revolution of 1830, several attempts were made to restore Napoleonic law. The chamber of deputies easily passed a divorce bill in 1831, 1832, 1833, and 1834. However, each time, even the far more restrictive law of 1803 was rejected by the chamber of peers.

Aristocrats in France rejected a return to the revolution; their vote against these divorce bills was both a rejection of the revolutionary heritage and a rejection of divorce’s social effects.

When both spouses consent to the divorce and agree on all relevant issues (such as the division of assets and childcare), this is referred to as divorce par contentment mutual (divorce by mutual consent. Before the documentation is presented to the high court (Tribunal de Grande Instance), the agreement should be drawn up by a lawyer (avocat) and signed by both parties.

A divorce accepte (divorce accepted) is possible when a couple agrees that a divorce should occur but cannot resolve their differences. Any issues that are in dispute will be decided by a judge. A French judge almost never orders a divorce without the couple coming to an agreement first. The whole process may be slowed down as a result. 

Neither spouse needs the consent of the other to initiate divorce proceedings. If the other spouse refuses the divorce, a judge will rule on the case and determine the terms. It is only in this rare instance that you need to show grounds for divorce.

Separation by two or more years (alteration definitive du lien conjugal) or at-fault divorce are the two main categories. In this case, the spouse seeking divorce must prove the other party caused the break-up of the marriage. Typically, this involves desertion, adultery, or cruelty. Typically, a court will find one party at fault in this case and may award damages to that party.

Read also: Adultery in the United States; Adultery in Judaism; Is adultery forgivable

External resource: Jstor

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