As you might expect, marriage in France is a complex business. The legal age of consent in France is 18; girls aged between 15 and 18 can be married with the consent of at least one parent, but the government is planning to abolish this concession. Non-French citizens are entitled to be married in France, but divorcees and widows must wait 300 days after their divorce or the death of their spouse before being allowed to remarry (in case of pregnancy).

France has one of the lowest rates of marriage in Europe. One of the reasons is that there are three levels of partnership. Two people can live en concubinage and have some of the same privileges in law as married couples, including social security. To qualify for these, you may need to obtain a (free) certificate from your town hall testifying that you’re living together ‘as man and wife’. The major disadvantage of concubinage, apart from the name – no one wants to be known as a ‘concubine’ - is that it isn’t recognised under French inheritance or tax laws, so partners can inherit only the amount allowed to non-relatives and they receive no state pension when their partner dies.

Increasingly popular is the pacte civile de solidarité, (PACS) which is signed at a court, which confers some but not all of the legal benefits of marriage. The big advantage of PACs is that it has all the tax, pension and inheritance benefits of marriage, and can be dissolved by a relatively simple process.

To arrange a marriage in France, either partner must apply at least a month in advance to the town hall where they normally live (they must have lived there for at least 40 days – 30 days’ residence plus ten days for publication of the banns). The bride and groom must each provide at least one witness and may provide two, whose names must be given to the town hall when the wedding is arranged. Both partners must also provide passports, residence permits (if applicable), birth certificates (stamped by their country’s local consulate not more than six months previously), proof of residence in France, and a medical certificate issued within the previous two months. The medical certificate is confidential and cannot prevent the marriage. A divorced or widowed person must provide a divorce or death certificate.

You may also be required to produce a certificat de célibat (which doesn’t mean that you promise to be celibate but that you aren’t already married!) no more than three months old, provided by your embassy and a notarised ‘affidavit of law’ (certificat de coutume), drawn up by a lawyer in your home country, to confirm that you’re free to marry. For a church ceremony, you may be asked to produce other documents, such as a baptism certificate. All documents must be ‘legalised’ in your home country and translated into French by an approved translator.

A civil ceremony, presided over by the mayor or one of his deputies, must be performed in France to legalise a wedding. Although around 50 per cent of couples choose to undergo a church ‘blessing’ ceremony, it has no legal significance and must take place after the civil ceremony. There’s no fee for a marriage in France, although most town halls make a collection in aid of local charities.

Married couples are given a ‘family book’ (livret de famille) in which all official family events such as the birth of children, divorce or deaths are recorded.

Marriages are performed under one of eight possible matrimonial regimes, determining ownership of assets acquired before, during and after the marriage. A marriage contract isn’t obligatory but is strongly recommended. A notaire will charge at least €300 to draw one up. If you’re married in France and you don’t specify otherwise, you will normally be subject to a communal regime. If you’re unsure about the implications of French marital regimes, you should seek advice from a notaire.