The French Penal Code of 1810 made adultery an offense punishable by imprisonment. Article 337 of this code enacted that “the woman convicted of adultery will suffer the penalty of imprisonment for at least three months and at most two years.” This code, drafted by men, gave them pride of place since article 339 decreed that “the husband who has maintained a concubine in the marital home will be punished with a fine of one hundred to two thousand francs”.
Thus, the adulteress incurred a prison sentence wherever the sexual act was committed. On the other hand, the adulterous husband, incurred only a simple penalty of fine, if he maintained a concubine on his own.
marital home. The man could therefore have as many extramarital affairs as he wished, as long as it did not happen at home.
Lucien B. and his wife Anna L. led a peaceful life in La Séoube where they operated a modest agricultural property. In the course of 1943, disagreement set in between the couple and the wife decided to leave the marital home to return to live with her parents. She was determined to ask for a divorce. Lucien B., believing himself freed from his duty of fidelity, did not take long to welcome a young neighbor, Dorothée G.
The news reached the ears of the legitimate wife, Anna L. Through her lawyer, the latter lodged a complaint against her husband and his accomplice, for maintaining a concubine in the marital home, in other words for adultery.
It was on the orders of the examining magistrate of Bagnères that one early morning in the summer of 1943, at 6 a.m., the justice of the peace of Campan went to La Séoube to the home of Lucien B. and could only note that he was lying in the same bed as Miss G. From his findings, the judge drew up a report of flagrant adultery. Questioned by the gendarmes, Dorothée G. expressed herself as follows: “I admit having been caught in flagrante delicto of adultery in the month of July 1943 when I was lying in the same bed as Mr. Lucien B. I was not unaware not that he was married but I thought I could dispose of my person since Lady B. had left her husband; moreover, it was the first time that I slept with him and this because of the absence of another bed in the house…”
Marital home or not?
Lucien B., also questioned, answered with a certain malice demonstrating that he had read the penal code well: “I admit having been caught in flagrante delicto of adultery, but whatever the barn where you made the statement was our home during the presence of my wife, the latter having left the marital home, this residence no longer seems to me to be legally the marital home…” Obviously, Lucien B. was aware of the provisions of article 339 of the penal code which did not punish the adultery of the husband only if committed in the marital home.
The criminal court of Bagnères-de-Bigorre, by judgment of October 8, 1943, declared the two lovers guilty of adultery and complicity and condemned them both to the same penalty, that is to say 1,200 francs of fine. It will be necessary to wait for the law of July 11, 1975 completely overhauling the divorce procedure so that adultery is no longer considered a criminally punishable offence.
The only victims of this new legislation are the lawyers who, since the application of the new law, are deprived of the possibility of pleading this type of case…
Question
Before the law of July 11, 1975, a husband accused of adultery could be sentenced to:
1 from prison
2 suspended prison sentence
3 a simple fine
2023-07-11 16:07:43
#Summer #game #Criminal #cases #Bigorre #Adultery #Séoube
