topics
tools
Expatica countries
Index Last Var.(%)
BEL 20 2133.8 0.68
DAX 6377.08 0.59
IBEX 30 6490.8 -0.80
CAC 40 3074.23 0.86
FTSE 100 5400.49 0.91
AEX 295.35 0.88
DJIA 12454.83 -0.60
Nasdaq 2837.53 -0.07
FTSE MIB 13193.29 0.29
TSX Composite 11576.47 0.09
ASX 4120.2 0.96
Hang seng 18800.99 0.47
Straits Times 2787.22 0.52
ISEQ 20 503.77 0.56
You are here: Home News French News 150 MEPs decry French court annulment of...

French News

archive
Enlarge font Decrease font Text size


09/06/2008150 MEPs decry French court annulment of non-virgin's marriage

Some 150 members of the European Parliament have sent a petition to the French justice minister denouncing a court's annulment of a non-virgin marriage.

9 June 200

BRUSSELS - Some 150 members of the European Parliament have sent a petition to the French justice minister denouncing a court's annulment of a marriage on the grounds that the Muslim bride was not a virgin.

"It is a dangerous precedent that can only comfort fundamentalists in their archaic fight whilst the main barrier against this fanatism should precisely be the law," the signatories said in their position to Justice Minister Rachida Dati.

"The virginity of a woman is not an essential condition of the person. It is not either for a man," they said in their statement.

"We witness here a serious regression against which we wish to rise up," the statement added.

The text has so far been signed by some 150 members of the European Parliament, almost a fifth of all MEPs, from various member states and political groups including the socialists, conservatives, liberals, communists and Greens.

The annulment was granted in April by a court in the northern French city of Lille but news of it reached the French media only last week. The husband, an engineer in his thirties who has not been named, requested it because he realised his new bride, also a Muslim, was not a virgin on their wedding night in July 2006.

The woman later admitted to him she had had pre-marital sex.

The court granted the request after ruling that the man's belief in the woman's virginity was a "determining factor" in his decision to marry her.

The ruling did not mention the couple's religion.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Wednesday flew to the support of his Muslim-born justice minister, Rachida Dati who has drawn furious protests from women's rights groups and elsewhere for refusing to condemn the court's ruling.

Dati bowed to the public uproar over the annulment case Monday by ordering an appeal, but has continued to insist the ruling was legally sound, based on a breach of trust between the pair, not the issue of virginity itself.

[AFP / Expatica]


0 reactions to this article

Be the first person to add a comment

General rating:

Rate article:    Add my rating



0 reactions to this article

Be the first person to add a comment
Discussion Forums

Travel & Transport in France

BUY FAKE PASSPORT, DRIVING LICENSE,ID CARD

Immigration and Legal Problems

BUY FAKE PASSPORT, DRIVING LICENSE,ID CARD

Relocating to France

BUY FAKE PASSPORT, DRIVING LICENSE,ID CARD

Kiwis in France

BUY FAKE PASSPORT, DRIVING LICENSE,ID CARD

South Africans in France

BUY FAKE PASSPORT, DRIVING LICENSE,ID CARD

participate in the forums

Inside Expatica
Management culture in France

Management culture in France

This handy guide from Expertise in Labour Mobility includes information on business hierarchy, negotiations, and etiquette.

American associations and clubs in Paris

American associations and clubs in Paris

A listing of organizations in the Paris area that cater primarily to Americans living in France. Updated April 2011.

British associations and clubs in Paris

British associations and clubs in Paris

Our handy guide to the British community in Paris, from cricket clubs to Scottish country dancing lessons to where to find a jar of Marmite.

Anglophone services in France

Anglophone services in France

Here's a short introduction to our Banking section for those living in France, from how to open a bank account to Islamic banking and investments.