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Chapter I: Parental authority over the person of the child

Article 371-1 of the French Civil Code

Parental authority is a set of rights and duties with the interests of the child as their ultimate goal. It belongs to the parents until the child reaches majority or emancipation to protect the child’s safety, health and morality, to ensure the child’s education and enable the child’s development, with due respect for the child’s person. Parental authority is exercised without physical or psychological violence. Parents involve the child in…

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Article 371-2 of the French Civil Code

Each parent contributes to the maintenance and education of the children in proportion to his or her resources, those of the other parent, and the needs of the child. This obligation does not cease ipso jure either when parental authority or its exercise is withdrawn, or when the child comes of age.

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Article 371-4 of the French Civil Code

Children have the right to maintain personal relations with their ascendants. Only the interests of the child may prevent the exercise of this right. If it is in the child’s interests, the family court judge shall determine the terms and conditions of relations between the child and a third party, whether a parent or not, in particular where that third party has resided on a stable basis with the child…

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Article 371-5 of the French Civil Code

The child must not be separated from his or her brothers and sisters, unless this is not possible or if his or her interests require another solution. Where appropriate, the judge will rule on personal relationships between brothers and sisters.

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Article 371-6 of the French Civil Code

A child leaving the national territory without being accompanied by a holder of parental authority shall be in possession of an authorisation to leave the territory signed by a holder of parental authority. A decree in the Conseil d’Etat shall determine the conditions of application of this article. .

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Article 372 of the French Civil Code

The father and mother exercise parental authority jointly. Parental authority is exercised jointly in the case provided for in article 342-11. However, where parentage is established with regard to one of them more than one year after the birth of a child whose parentage is already established with regard to the other, the latter remains solely vested with the exercise of parental authority. The same applies when filiation is judicially…

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Article 372-2 of the French Civil Code

With regard to third parties acting in good faith, each parent is deemed to act with the agreement of the other when he or she alone performs a customary act of parental authority in relation to the person of the child.

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