Children Born Outside Marriage
in France and their Parents: Recognitions and Legitimations since 1965
Francisco MUNOZ-PÉREZ* and France PRIOUX*
After a long decline, the number of births outside marriage in France started to rise again toward the mid-1960s. What began as a moderate uptrend accelerated in the 1980s, concurrently with the decline in marriages: the number of illegitimate births went from slightly over 50,000 or so in 1965 to nearly 300,000 in 1997, or 40% of total births (Table 1). Meanwhile, the legislation on illegitimate children was radically amended. In terms of legal rights, illegitimate children used to be at a heavy disadvantage compared with legitimate children. In 1972, illegitimate children were granted a near-identical status, provided they were recognized by their parents (see section below, "A few legal concepts"). In recent decades, France has also introduced other legislative changes concerning the rules of assignment of parental authority and the proof of filiation for illegitimate children.
^Institut National d'Études Démographiques, Paris. Translated by Jonathan Mandelbaum.
Population: An English Selection, 12, 2000, 139-196
