French Code of civil procedure

From the outset of the proceedings, the spouses shall, where applicable, make known, with the information necessary for their identification, the sickness insurance fund to which they are affiliated, the services or bodies which provide family benefits, retirement pensions or any old-age benefits, and the name and address of these funds, services or bodies.

When an application for compensatory allowance is made to the judge or provided for in an agreement, each spouse shall produce the declaration on their honour referred to in article 272 of the Civil Code.

The spouses must, at the judge’s request, provide evidence of their expenses and resources, in particular by producing income tax returns, tax notices and tax status statements. They must also, at the judge’s request, produce supporting documents relating to their assets and living conditions, in addition to the declaration on their honour enabling the compensatory allowance to be set.

A spouse who files an application for divorce may, in any event, and even on appeal, substitute for it an application for legal separation. Reverse substitution is prohibited.

Where one of the parties has only requested the payment of alimony or a contribution to the expenses of the marriage, the judge may not grant the divorce without inviting the parties to explain the payment of a compensatory allowance.

The claim may be based on only one of the cases provided for in the third to sixth paragraphs of Article 229 of the Civil Code. Any claim made in the alternative in any other case is inadmissible. Except for the cases provided for in Articles 247 to 247-2 of the Civil Code, an application based on one of the cases of divorce defined in the third to sixth paragraphs…

The application shall mention, where applicable, the existence of a protection order concerning the spouses that is in force on the date it is submitted. The order, together with proof of its notification, shall be attached to the application.