The bride said she was a virgin. When her new husband discovered that was a lie, he went to court to annul the marriage — and a French judge agreed.

The ruling ending the Muslim couple's union has stunned France and raised concerns the country's much-cherished secular values are losing ground to cultural traditions from its fast-growing immigrant communities.

The decision also exposed the silent shame borne by some Muslim women who transgress long-held customs demanding proof of virginity on the wedding night.

In its ruling, the court concluded the woman had misrepresented herself as a virgin and that, in this particular marriage, virginity was a prerequisite.

But in treating the case as a breach of contract, the ruling was decried by critics who said it undermined decades of progress in women's rights. Marriage, they said, was reduced to the status of a commercial transaction in which women could be discarded by husbands claiming to have discovered hidden defects in them.

full article:
Outcry after French court rules on virginity


annulling a marriage because the bride was not virgin???? :-S

I'm at a loss for words. France is simply stepping backwards. Shame!

I suppose it all depends on how the verdict was justified, if the justification was that she had lied to him then I'm not surprised dissolution of marriage was judged. I think marital laws say that you cannot base marriage on a lie. If a prospective husband said he had no children and afterwards it would turn out he'd been lying a divorce would be granted as well I think.

What is silly here is the fact that a guy filed for a divorce because of his wife's lack of virginity. I'd say there must have been something more to it. Perhaps she laughed him out for his poor performance that night

I still wonder how a man can find out whether a woman is a virgin or not if she does not tell him

Believe it or not, some people still think that a woman has to bleed during her first sexual intercourse...

Although I am surprised and outraged that this man actually took this to court, it is the courts duty to make a ruling on the facts and apply them to the law. In most western countries, an engagement is seen as a legal and binding contract. One party makes an offer (ex: man proposes marriage based on facts supplied to him by the woman) The other party either accepts or rejects the offer. If a man makes an offer of marriage to a woman based on the fact that she is a virgin (which in my opinion just means he is uneducated and ignorant), do you think its ok for him not to get what he was promised? On the other hand......Of course there is no way for this woman to prove it one way or the other...so to me, the French court, instead of perpetuating this ridiculous legal arguement, should have thrown the case out for lack of evidence!!! Perhaps it will be thrown out in a higher court...but in my opinion, this woman is lucky not to be married to such an ASS!!

I wonder how many of the French marry on false pretenses.. Sounds like if she felt compelled to lie in the first place, she should have never married this man. He doesn't appear to be a great catch either. However, I am shocked they ruled in favor of this, since now it could be sited as case law for future divorces.

It's not because France court says that not being virgin itself is a reason to divorce, but because the woman had lied on a fact about herself which is an essential precondition for the husband, and the court decided that marriage cannot continue in these conditions, and as well they gave this decision to protect that woman, because now the woman wants to end that marriage as well, and it's better forr her not to stay married with him.
Marriage is not something forced by laws, the court handles each case seperately in its conditions and decides if it can continue or not.