The French parliament's upper house yesterday backed a proposal to raise the minimum age at which women may marry from 15 to 18, belatedly amending a century-old law that experts say encourages the misery of arranged marriages.
"As it stands, French law on this point is archaic in the extreme," said Joelle Garriaud-Maylam, who submitted the bill. "It is discriminatory, but above all it represents a real danger for young girls who see marriages imposed on them that they are unable to challenge." According to article 144 of France's civil or Napoleonic code, "The man who is not yet attained the age of 18, and the woman who is not yet 15, may not enter into wedlock." Like roughly half of the code's 2,281 articles, it has not changed since it came into force in March 1804. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/mar/30/france.jonhenley
"As it stands, French law on this point is archaic in the extreme," said Joelle Garriaud-Maylam, who submitted the bill. "It is discriminatory, but above all it represents a real danger for young girls who see marriages imposed on them that they are unable to challenge." According to article 144 of France's civil or Napoleonic code, "The man who is not yet attained the age of 18, and the woman who is not yet 15, may not enter into wedlock." Like roughly half of the code's 2,281 articles, it has not changed since it came into force in March 1804. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/mar/30/france.jonhenley
