The public prosecutor in Nantes objects to your marriage
You are French and plan to marry, abroad, a person of foreign nationality. Before the ceremony, the consulate interviews the future spouses and issues the certificate of capacity to marry. If it doubts that consent is genuine, it refers the file to the public prosecutor in Nantes, who alone has jurisdiction over marriages of French nationals celebrated abroad and may object to the marriage (article 171-4 of the French Civil Code).
The objection is notified to you. Until it is lifted, the marriage cannot be celebrated, and a marriage celebrated in spite of it cannot be transcribed in the French registers (article 171-6).
Lifting the objection before the judicial court of Nantes
The lifting of the objection may be requested at any time before the judicial court of Nantes (articles 171-4, 177 and 178 of the Civil Code). The Code provides that the court rules within ten days, but this time limit carries no sanction: in practice, proceedings often take several months. The judgment may be appealed before the court of appeal of Rennes.
Marriage already celebrated: transcription refused
The marriage of a French national celebrated abroad must be transcribed in the French civil registers. Where the public prosecutor in Nantes objects to the transcription, the spouses may bring the matter before the judicial court of Nantes, which rules on the validity of the marriage (articles 171-7 and 171-8 of the Civil Code).
What has to be proved
That your marriage plans are genuine: living together, regular contact, knowing each other, meeting each other's families, plans for the future. The file is built document by document, and consistency between your statements at the consulate interview matters a great deal.
A lawyer admitted in Nantes
The competent prosecutor and court sit in Nantes: the firm is admitted there and assists you wherever you live, in France or abroad, at the office or remotely, in French or Arabic.
What to do now
- Note the date on which the objection or the refusal to transcribe was notified to you.
- Gather your identity documents, the letter from the prosecutor in Nantes or the consulate, and evidence of your relationship.
- Start proceedings as soon as you receive the objection, without waiting for the planned wedding date: lifting it often takes several months.
Walid Chamkhi, avocatAdmitted to the Nantes Bar, acting throughout France
General information, which does not replace an analysis of your situation. Fees: lifting of an objection to marriage, fixed fee of €2,000 excl. VAT (€2,400 incl. VAT) at first instance before the judicial court of Nantes, set out in a written fee agreement. See the fee schedule.