False Virginity Claim Has Husband Seeking An Annulment on Night of Wedding

Civil rights organisations, feminists and the media have condemned a decision made by a lower court in Lille, France to annual a marriage on the grounds that the bride was not a virgin on the night of her wedding.

The annulment has caused anger in France and President Sarkozy’s party are now being urged to make a change within the law of Article 180 of the Civil Code which states ‘a marriage can be annulled at the request of one of both parties if one of them has misrepresented “essential qualities” about themselves’.

The young couple an engineer in his 30s and a student nurse in her 20s have been named as Mr X and Ms Y to protect their identity.

After the newlyweds retired to their bedroom in the family home in Roubaix the husband soon rejoined the wedding party downstairs complaining that his bride was not a virgin and had tricked him into believing she was.  The traditional ‘blood spotting’ was not displayed on the sheets and after confronting his wife she admitted to having had sexual relations with other men before she had met him.

The next morning the couple went to court and the husband was granted an annulment on the grounds of his new bride deceiving. The bride did not oppose the annulment.

The ruling made in April by Justice Minister Rachida Dati has been condemned by the government and the Union for Popular Movement along with the opposition Socialist Party have joined together in criticising the court’s decision, saying ‘it had given too much weight to the religious sensitivities of the couple’.

The ruling has now been blocked by a French appeals court and the couple will have to wait until September to hear what the final outcome is to be.



Wedding Annulments

In France during 2004, 737 marriages were annulled while 250 were rejected.  Lying about previous marriages and nationality was one of the most common reasons given, but this is the first time a case has been brought regarding ‘non-virginity’.

There are different legal jurisdictions for annulments which in laymans terms is a marrige being voidable.

The following reasons are most common when seeking an annulment.

  • Fraud
  • Bigamy
  • Mental Incompetence
  • Underage
  • Under the influence of drugs or alcohol
  • Forced in marriage
  • Unable to have sexual intercouse (chronically)
  • Family blood ties (1st cousins varies in different countries)
  • Prisoners serving a life sentence
  • Concealing a criminal record or a drug addiction
  • Having a sexual transmitted disease

When annulment have been granted, the innocent spouse is still legally entitled to financial benefits from the guilty party.  Such as spousal support, child support and any attorney fees that may be occurred during the court hearings.

The difference between an annulment and a divorce is where a court grants a divorce by terminating the marriage, whereas an annulment means the indivuals were never united in marriage as husband and wife and therefore the marriage was never legal.

History of Annulment

King Henry the IIV was the man responsible for annulments after he broke away from the Catholic Church and made himself Head of the Church of England.  This was due the fact that he wanted to end his first marriage to Catherine of Aragon after he became dissatisfied with her.  He went on the have four of his six marriages end in annulment.