Extract
[...] This flexibility allows adapting the obligation of cohabitation to new forms of family organization, while preserving its essence. The emergence of a common law for couples, with the legal recognition of PACS and concubinage, has also contributed to the evolution of the notion of community of life. Article 515-4 of the Civil Code imposes on PACS partners a common life as well as material assistance and reciprocal support, thus reiterating the principles of marriage. This convergence has led to a relativization of the specificity of the obligation of common life in marriage, without calling it into question. [...]
[...] Historically, adultery was a grave fault that could lead to major legal consequences, both civil and penal. Pursuant to Article 212 of the Civil Code, spouses owe each other fidelity, assistance, and support. However, the rigidity of this obligation has been gradually attenuated by case law. The Court of Cassation, in a ruling of December (No. 14-29,549), held that the evolution of mores no longer allowed considering that the imputation of conjugal infidelity necessarily harmed the honor or consideration of a spouse. [...]
[...] Any breach of this duty can thus justify a sanction, whether it be a divorce for fault or the nullity of the marriage in case of manifest fraud. This persistent rigidity of the duty of common life contrasts with the relaxation of other conjugal obligations, such as fidelity, thus illustrating a gradual shift towards an individualization of matrimonial ties. II- The emergence of a common law for couples: the blow dealt to the institution If marriage has long been based on imperative duties governing the conjugal relationship, the evolution of family law testifies to an inverse dynamic: the reaffirmation of individual rights tends to dissolve traditional constraints in favor of a more flexible union, where the autonomy of spouses prevails over the imperative of the couple's perpetuity. [...]
[...] The recognition of reciprocal assistance within the framework of the PACS by the law of June is a striking illustration of this. Article 515-4 of the Civil Code provides that " partners linked by a civil solidarity pact commit to a common life, as well as mutual material aid and reciprocal assistance », Thus, translating a progressive alignment of the regime of partners with that of spouses. This dynamic of uniformization is also reflected in the jurisprudential evolution related to concubinage. [...]
[...] If marriage remains the only legal framework imposing a duty of fidelity, the PACS and concubinage, which benefit from increasing recognition, do not establish any requirement of fidelity. By consecrating an obligation of mutual material aid and assistance for PACS partners, the law of June without including a duty of fidelity, marked a break with the traditional conception of the couple. Thus, conjugal fidelity, once the foundation of the marital union, now appears as a norm in the process of dilution, reflecting a passage from an institutional vision of marriage to a contractual and individualistic approach. [...]
