Abandoning the name received at birth to take that of the other parent: the National Assembly has given the green light to a text of
"freedom"
allowing to change surname more easily, once in one's life.
The bill by LREM deputy Patrick Vignal
“relating to the choice of the name resulting from parentage”
was adopted at first reading on the night of Wednesday January 26 to Thursday January 27 by 49 votes to 5 and 2 abstentions.
This short text - four articles - touches through the name and its transmission to a foundation of civil status and individual identity.
Read alsoAbuse, rupture: these French people who want to change their name
This law
"of freedom"
will give
"a choice without imposing it"
and
"will make it possible to put an end to suffering, to appease families"
, pleaded Patrick Vignal.
The Keeper of the Seals Éric Dupond-Moretti gave his
“enthusiastic”
support for this reform which will make it possible to respond
“to those people who support their name more than they wear it”
.
The flow of often lively debates was marked by the personal testimony of MP Aina Kuric (Agir group, majority).
“I am the victim of an incestuous father (…) and I no longer wish to bear the name of my executioner.
I want to wear the one of the woman who made me, and it's my mother"
, she launched, describing the current complex steps to achieve this.
"We don't change our name for fun, because it's fun
," she added to applause.
The left and center right oppositions gave their support to this proposal
“which accompanies changes and demands”
from civil society (Marietta Karamanli, PS), and
“goes in the right direction”
(Michel Zumkeller, UDI).
On the right and on the far right, some have on the contrary denounced, like Marc Le Fur (LR) a drift towards an
“à la carte civil status, at the risk of weakening the very notion of filiation”
.
While recognizing the need
"to provide answers to particular difficulties"
, Philippe Gosselin (LR) deplored the
"extreme simplification"
for the change of name which can be done
"by a simple Cerfa administrative form"
.
Sébastien Chenu (RN) denounced a reform aimed at
“deconstructing identity and the family”
.
“Emotional” motives
The change of name is now possible in certain cases - a ridiculous or discredited sounding name, for the purposes of Frenchifying a foreign name, to prevent the extinction of a surname - but the procedure is long, costly and uncertain. . The so-called
"emotional"
reasons
, for those wishing to give up the name of a violent, incestuous, absent parent or any other personal reason are subject to the same procedures, often without success. The bill would simplify this process: once in their life, any adult could ask to take, or add, the name of their other parent. The current cumbersome procedure going through the Ministry of Justice would be done via a simple process at the town hall, without having to justify it. Not everything would be permitted.
“The simplified procedure does not allow choosing a fanciful name.
She lives in a family environment”
, emphasizes Patrick Vignal.
Read alsoTowards an à la carte family name?
MPs want to revolutionize civil status
Another provision of the text aims to make life easier for parents whose children bear only the name of the other parent. Frequent situations, mainly for women - often after a divorce - forced to use the family record book to prove their link with their children in the event of school, administrative, medical procedures, etc. Sometimes grotesque hassles which
“pollute the lives of many French women and men”
, underlined Camille Galliard-Minier (LREM). To get out of these situations, Patrick Vignal's text would make it easier for children to wear, in addition to the family name given at birth, the name of the other parent as a
"custom name"
.
An evolution desired by the collective “Porte mon nom”.
Its founder Marine Gatineau-Dupré, present in the stands of the Palais Bourbon, speaks of a
“common sense”
measure against
“small suffering”
on a daily basis.
This bill is in fact part of a series of texts on social issues examined in the run-up to the presidential election, and likely to meet expectations sensitive to liberal societal reforms, such as the extension of the legal deadline for IVG.
It must be examined in the Senate on February 15, with a view to final adoption before the end of the legislature and entry into force in July.
