" Born at ". This indication which appears on all the French identity cards could know a small revolution. A bill examined this Thursday in the Senate allows parents to include their municipality of residence on the papers of their child rather than where it actually came into being. A “symbolic” measure, recognize the authors.
Due to the concentration of maternity hospitals, 99.6% of births take place in less than 500 municipalities. “In Paris, there are only four districts out of twenty where one can declare births. In Corsica, only three cities, ”cites as an example Hervé Marseille, president of the Union Center group in the Senate and signatory of the text. Result: on our identity cards, less and less geographic diversity and civil status registers which are emptied in very many town halls. "We only note the deaths," regrets the senator. The finding is not new. In 2003, the elected members of the upper house had already proposed a law to this effect.
Genealogists rub their hands
“At the beginning of the century, it was customary for women to give birth to their children at home. Over the years, deliveries were first carried out in small maternity hospitals not far from the place of residence, and nowadays, with few exceptions, no longer take place except in large hospital complexes, located in more urban areas. great importance ”, already pointed out the authors of this first text. Concretely, the measure presented this Thursday in the Senate proposes "on an experimental basis" to register the birth of a child in the town where he is born, as well as in the place of residence of his parents, if they wish. A “mirror” procedure which will be tested for three years if the principle is implemented.
At the risk of an additional workload for small municipalities? "It's a possibility, not an obligation for parents," recalls Hervé Marseille. "Considering the number of births, we cannot say that it is an additional work", he sweeps. On the side of rural mayors, the measure is greeted with half-word. “As mentioned in the text of the bill, it is a symbolic measure. We would welcome it if there were not other subjects at least as important as the maintenance of maternity, "said Cédric Szabo, director of the association of rural mayors of France (AMRF).
As for genealogists, we rub our hands much more frankly. "This is a very good idea," comments Christophe Becker, director of Geneanet, the leading French site for contributory genealogy on the Internet. "Today when we do genealogy, we are very quickly interested in the villages of origin of the ancestors, who are mostly small towns", he specifies. According to him, this measure would refine knowledge. And this, despite the moves that have become commonplace. "It means that at one point people were at a specific place. "
