The overwhelming majority of les loi de la republique de la France make perfect sense. Yet there are some strange French laws that raise eyebrows, in and outside France.
All laws are published on a government website and are uncomplicated and easy to read. In the statute books are lingering relics of bygone eras, alongside a handful of peculiarly French modern laws and rules.
Checking the law books where applicable, we’ve compiled a list of 18 strange French laws that provide a revealing insight into French life.
Offbeat French laws
The first set of strange French laws on our list look bizarre at first glance, although make more sense with a bit of context.
1. You can marry the deceased in France
This law only makes our list because of how absurd it initially sounds.
Yet, posthumous marriages are not as crazy as they sound.
Posthumous marriages are permitted in France following exceptional and often heartbreaking circumstances if approved by the President of the Republic. Approval is granted when a surviving partner can demonstrate marriage was inevitable.
Posthumous marriages have been approved for partners of soldiers who died in conflict and disaster victims, making this headline-grabbing law one of the most scrutable entries on our list of strange French laws.
2. French radio DJs must give their compatriots airtime
Valiantly fighting to keep the French language alive for younger, globalised audiences, French radio must dedicate 35% of airtime (recently reduced from 40%) to French language music.
French legislators are known for fervently defending the national language, yet this law has many critics.
Critics highlight a glaring flaw: France does not produce 35% of worldwide music. This means a small number of commercially successful French songs are being played repeatedly to hit the quota, driving listeners a little crazy.
3. Cheques can be written on any type of paper in France
Internet lore paints an image of French citizens scribbling out cheque payments on toilet paper. This can be attributed to a French law that denotes what information a cheque must contain, leaving payees to decide how to deliver that info.
Legally, issuing a cheque on toilet paper is acceptable in France. In practice, recipients are unlikely to be impressed.
Presumably, the law was written assuming that rational people will use their pre-printed chequebook.
Infamous French laws
There are plenty of everyday laws that attract controversy in France (like a recent reduction in speed limits). But there are a couple of strange French laws that non-residents find truly baffling.
4. The Speedos law
This rule was not dreamt up by Speedo executives. It is not really a law at all, merely a hygiene requirement zealously enforced at public pools across France.
The rule: only tight-fitting swimwear is allowed in public pools, to the disquiet of many unaware visitors.
The idea is that nobody would be seen dead in tight-fitting, spandex swimwear. Whereas somebody wearing shorts can spontaneously drop by the pool on a hot day without changing into swimwear. No outdoor shorts equals less dirt.
Many tourists hate it, especially when first learning about the rule following a blast from a whistle-toting lifeguard.
The French themselves seem pretty relaxed about it all. Swimming pool administration falls under local jurisdiction, yet the same rule is consistently applied wherever you go in France.
Rules for private pools, campsites, and other public facilities, can be less rigorous. But it pays to check before arriving if you want to avoid the overpriced and undersized emergency maillot de bain (swimsuit) sold from conveniently placed vending machines.
5. Voiture sans permis (car without a licence)
That’s right — it is legal to drive a car on French roads without a driving permit.
Not any car. The car must be a tiny 2-seater that can only hit a top speed of 45 Kmph (28 mph). Resembling oversized toy cars, they are popular with the elderly for reaching local shops or family.
The only requirements are insurance and proof that you’ve reached the lofty age of 14. Although few 14 years old would ever choose to be seen in a voiture sans permis.
This is one of those strange French laws that is widely considered an anachronism, yet the little cars are still found all across France. Usually at the head of a rapidly lengthening line of traffic.
French Laws that reveal the best of France
Not all strange French laws deal with complicated matters. Some exist to preserve the little things that lift French spirits.
6. The bread decree (le décret pain)
Breadmaking is a serious business in France. As underlined by a law decreeing how bread can be made and sold.
Pain de tradition française — traditional French bread —can only be made with four ingredients (wheat flour, water, yeast, and salt).
There are also laws governing where bread is sold, with only fresh bread made on-site allowed to be marketed as pain maison (homemade bread).
Similar laws apply to beermaking in Germany and chocolate production in Belgium, illustrating how national laws reflect cultural values.
7. Protecting the singular sensory experience of rural France
Some strange French laws sound too weird to be true until you dig into the detail. Like a law created to protect the sounds and smells of the French countryside.
It all began with a boisterous, noisy rooster and a sleepless second-home owner having second thoughts about their dream rural idyll. A court case to silence the inconsiderate rooster followed.
Unsurprisingly, the law and a hefty chunk of the French population sided with the rooster – yet again fulfilling its destiny as a symbol of national pride – against second-home owners disparagingly known as néo-ruraux (neo-rurals).
Upheld by the Senate in 2021, this ruling ensures rural sounds like tractors or chirping crickets are legally free to make as much noise as they want.
8. Desk lunches are interdit
Getting away from the workplace for lunch is a legal right in France.
While lengthy lunch breaks are a fading memory in France, the law is clear: employers must ensure workers leave the workplace or eat in a separate dining area.
It is why you will never see French workers hunched over their desks, juggling their workload and a lacklustre sandwich.
9. French law on alcoholic drinks in the workplace
Within the legislation covering lunches is another example of strange French laws for the workplace, this time determining what alcoholic drinks are permitted at work.
Most alcoholic drinks are explicitly forbidden in French workplaces. Yet it wouldn’t be France without some exceptions, even if a lunchtime verre de vin is another artefact of French nostalgia.
Beer, cider, perry, and, of course, wine gets the nod of approval from French legislators on those rare occasions that workers can enjoy a drink on work premises.
Surprising French family laws
If there is one set of strange French laws that have far-reaching implications for most residents, it is a set of long-standing family laws.
Unlike the Common Law system in English-speaking countries, French law is built upon the Code Civil.
Formalised as the legal backbone of France in 1804, it is also known as the Code Napoléon. Split between droit privé (private law) and droit public (public law), there are surprisingly precise rules governing family matters.
10. Parents can prevent their children from getting married
Of all the strange French laws that emerged during the early period of legal codification, a rule permitting meddlesome parents to block marriages is, perhaps, the most contentious.
Article 173 in Book 1 of the civil code was apparently intended to strengthen the family unit. Instead, the law proved more effective at alienating loved ones, so it lay untouched for generations until it was dragged from obscurity by some disgruntled parents in 2010.
The parents successfully (yet briefly) invoked the law to block their son’s wedding. The decision was ultimately overturned, but not before dividing a family and eliciting widespread bewilderment that strange French laws like this still existed.
11. Children can’t be disinherited in France
As if to restore balance, this curious law removes the right for parents to cut children from their inheritance.
Except for a few strict exceptions and convoluted workarounds, a proportion of assets must be split equally between all children. Spouses are entitled to a share, while a portion can also be set aside for chosen recipients.
Created at a time when offspring were disinherited for spurious, often political reasons, this is another of those strange French laws that look out of place in modern times.
Famously, it was the source of a bitter legal dispute involving French music royalty when Johnny Hallyday died. Having drawn up a will disinheriting his first two children while living in the USA, the French legend’s wishes were overturned in France. The conclusion to a drama that enlivened French celebrity gossip magazines for years.
12. Family theft is not recognised by French law
Adding to the burgeoning list of strange French laws that govern family life, is a legal stipulation that family members cannot be prosecuted for stealing from each other.
We’re not talking about covertly borrowing the keys to the family car. Unless pocketing essentials for daily living (ID documents, payment cards), family members can steal without fear of police involvement.
13. Obligation alimentaire – Families must provide for each other
Some strange French laws are clearly well-intentioned. The obligation alimentaire (maintenance obligation) clarifies that family members are required to look out for each other, even if they’re stealing or fighting over inheritances and marriages.
Although children, parents, and grandchildren must provide material or financial support when needed, this law is most commonly enforced for elderly relatives and sick family members.
Yet another legal ruling affirming that families are for life in France!
Famous French laws that are not (totally) true
Some strange French laws have gained near-mythical status, yet the fabled final entries on our list are not all that they seem.
14. French pigs cannot be named Napoleon
A quick search for strange French laws invariably yields the bizarre claim that you cannot have a pig called Napoleon in France.
No evidence of this ruling has been found in legal records. Academics at the suitably titled Napoloen.org have taken time to debunk this oddly persistent falsehood.
The most plausible explanation for this urban legend originates from culturally oversensitive French publications of George Orwell’s Animal Farm. French publishers initially changed the porcine antagonist’s name from Napoleon to César, birthing a myth that has never gone away.
15. UFO tours of Châteauneuf-du-Pape are forbidden
This ‘French Law’ — air quotes necessary — was the brainchild of an inventive mayor.
This local decree capitalised on a spate of UFO sightings across France in the 1950s. Flying cigars, cigare volant, were making national headlines. Skilfully milking free publicity, the mayor of Châteauneuf-du-Pape issued this order in 1954:
“Any aircraft, known as flying saucer or flying cigar, which should land on the territory of the community will be immediately held in custody.”
It paid off, as newspapers around the world printed articles about this strangest of strange French laws.
The free publicity never stopped coming. In 2016 the town and its celebrated vineyards restated that alien crafts remain welcome in their village, winning more free advertising for the world-famous wine.
Read about some French vineyards that welcome all visitors, even those arriving by UFO.
16. Kissing is forbidden on French train platforms
This rule, often cited as a stereotypical example of strange French laws, forbids passionate platform clinches.
This apparently heavy-handed rule leans rather too conveniently into a romantic trope, conjuring images of lovers lost in lingering embraces on steamy train platforms. Potentially just another piece of viral marketing, it is more likely to be a simple travel recommendation.
17. Snails on Trains
Snail companions cannot travel for free on trains in France. Fact.
Once again, this is not a legitimate example of strange French laws but merely the overly keen application of another standard train travel rule. The rule states that animals travelling on the rail network must have a ticket. Fittingly, the limits to this rule were tested by a famous French delicacy, the humble escargot.
The cute backstory of fare-dodging snails made easy headlines in France. The outcome was more prosaic, with the teacher transporting the snails receiving a fine that was later waived. It is still unclear if escargot — pets or dinner ingredients — can travel free on French rail.
18. Ketchup is off the menu in schools
This rule grabbed a few international headlines, portrayed as one of those strange French laws that couldn’t work anywhere else. The idea played on notions of gallic gastronomes vainly resisting foreign flavours.
There is a kernel of truth. Ketchup and other condiments are only offered with infrequently served frites (fries/chips) and burgers. Ketchup is also provided with the national children’s favourite coquillettes (small pasta shells), typically served alongside cordon bleu.
Most of the time, schoolchildren eat a varied menu. Preferably with classic French sauces, like bechamel or fresh tomato sauce.
This is one of those famously strange French laws that claim to reveal something about French food culture. Yet the truth is less illuminating, with the official records showing this is just a bit of sensible menu planning.
