So with all the concern about marriage in the United States, the interesting thing to me is a recent article I read about France. The city of Paris is considered one of the most romantic in the world and when you think about romance, you think of French wine, the French countryside and in some cases – French cuisine. In the past generation, marriage within the population has fallen more than 30 percent and in large part because more and more couples have chosen to live together, build families and homes without civil or religious approval.
According to France’s National Institute of Demographic Studies, marriage no longer has the same importance that it once had in the region. They do not believe it will ever become as frequent as before. In fact, sociologists have noted that much of northern Europe is experiencing a soft revolution, shifting away from the old world traditions to one that puts more emphasis on personal independence.
Currently, the marriage figures in France are about 45% lower than they are here in the United States. The society there is transitioning with more and more young people moving to urban areas, abandoning the Catholic Church and developing a greater tolerance for alternative lifestyles. The interesting thing is it’s not just their greater tolerance, but also a more supportive attitude about the personal choices that individuals make.
In a nation where the French president maintained a mistress openly and some of the more high profile politicians are unmarried, but living together with their partners and raising children together – marriage just doesn’t rank very high on French values. They put more emphasis on personal integrity, personal choices and the dignity with which individuals live their lives.
While 30 years ago, getting married was seen as the traditional result of a successful romantic relationship, modern couples are not getting married out of homage to the past. They are not getting married as part of a religious rebellion either. Instead, they see love as a personal matter that has nothing to do with civil or religious traditions.
The French government doesn’t offer married couples the same tax reductions as the U.S. Government. The tax incentives in France tend to target how many children a couple has and doesn’t take into account whether the couple is married or not.
Contrary to current beliefs on the matter the French shift away from marriage began more than 30 years ago and the social structure of families and society within France have not disintegrated. French society embraced the changes and French law no longer differentiates between children born in or out of the marriage compact.
In other words, it seems to be working pretty well for the nation.
What are your thoughts on the matter?
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