Top French politicans on Thursday backed a bill to tighten up rules stopping foreigners without the correct residency papers from getting married in France.
The plea for new legislation was taken to the Senate - France's upper house of parliament - by Stéphane Demilly with the support of the Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau and the Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin.
"How is it possible to marry someone who is not legally resident in France?" Demilly asked senators in his bid for the bill's approval.
"Is it conceivable to read the articles of the Civil Code in the town hall of the Republic to someone who has no right to be there? These are the reactions and questions from the people I talk to about it. And yet, our law, as it stands, does not allow us to oppose the marriage of a person in an irregular situation."
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Demilly, the senator for the Somme region in northern France, started his campaign in 2023 following an incident in which Stéphane Wilmotte, the mayor of Hautmont, also in northern France refused to officiate the marriage of a man who had been ordered to leave the country.
A court case was brought against Wilmotte before it was eventually dropped and the man, the imam at a mosque, was deported.
"How is it possible to place an elected representative of the Republic in such a situation?" Demilly said. "How can mayors risk months of litigation, sometimes compounded by personal and family stress, when they are acting for the good of the region?
"The current legislation against marriages of convenience is not enough, and places civil registrars in situations that are surreal."
The bill was approved at its first reading with 227 votes in favour and 110 against. It will go back through the National Assembly - the lower house of parliament.
If it passes successfully, the new law will mean that any foreigner wanting to marry must provide the documents to the registrar proving that they have a right to be in France.
If the mayor or registrar remains unconvinced about the validity of the papers, they can pass their concerns to the public prosecutor who can suspend the wedding for two months while authenticity checks are carried out.
"The aim is to give the public prosecutor more time to conduct an investigation," say papers submitted to the Senate.
"In addition, the text [of the bill] provides that the public prosecutor is deemed to have decided to suspend the celebration of the marriage if he or she has not made a decision within 15 days of the matter being referred to him or her."
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However, opponents say the legislation runs counter to a 2003 decision by the French Constitutional Council, which said that a foreigner's irregular status cannot in itself be an obstacle to the marriage.
"This draft law is contrary to the constitution," said the Socialist senator Corinne Narassiguin. "The irregular situation of one of the bride and groom cannot prevent the celebration of the marriage.
Rounding on backers of the bill, she added: "You are confusing the issue by citing sham marriages, which are prohibited by law. In your imagination, it would therefore be impossible to love a foreigner without having the ulterior motive of marrying them just to regularise their situation.
"So, according to you, anyone in an irregular situation who wishes to marry must be presumed to have fraudulent intent. Behind your prejudices and obsessions, there are men and women."
Earlier this week, prosecutors summoned the mayor of the Béziers in southern France for refusing to officiate a wedding between a French woman and an undocumented Algerian man in 2023. Robert Ménard faces up to five years in prison and a 75,000 euro fine for his stance.
"This draft law will be used to fuel false polemics," Narassiguin added: "We need to remind ourselves of a few facts. Marriage does not automatically, let alone immediately, lead to regularisation. These procedures are lengthy and offer no guarantee of success.
"Marriage offers no protection against an obligation to leave the country or a deportation order. So, beyond the law, let me tell you that your vision of marriage seems to be a very sad one. This text is ultimately a text against love."
