Overview

• President Emmanuel Macron has urged the National Assembly to examine a proposed law banning marriages for undocumented migrants, following its Senate approval in February 2025.
• The bill, supported by the Justice and Interior Ministers, seeks to address tensions between constitutional marriage rights and mayoral discretion over suspected sham unions.
• Marlène Mourier, mayor of Bourg-lès-Valence, has refused to officiate a marriage between a French citizen and a Tunisian in irregular status, citing suspicions of a marriage of convenience despite a prosecutor's injunction.
• Robert Ménard, mayor of Béziers, faces prosecution for a similar refusal in 2023, with President Macron describing the legal framework for mayors as inadequate and calling it 'mal fait.'
• Mayors who defy orders to officiate such marriages risk legal consequences, including up to five years in prison and disqualification from public office.