Weird French Laws (You Won’t Believe Exist!)

Last Updated on 11th May 2024 by Sophie Nadeau

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Every country has its fair share of weird and quirky laws that perhaps shouldn’t have made it to the books...and France is certainly no exception! Whether you find yourself bursting with laughter or holding your head in your hands, here are some pretty weird French Laws (and yes, they actually exist).

Of course, there are more laws that can fit in the space of this article, but the following are a few of the strangest regulations in France which we managed to find. At the end of the article, you’ll also find a list of urban legends that people often think are laws but actually aren’t!

Weird French laws

You’re not allowed alcohol in a place of work unless it’s wine, beer, cider, or Perry 

Obviously serving alcohol is still at the discretion of an employer and so you might find workplaces which don’t allow alcohol but you’ll also find that many do, especially during a holiday event or celebration of the company.

With this being said, if you do wish to drink at the workplace in France then you have the option to consume either wine, beer, cider or Perry/ pear cider (just make sure not to bring out the tequila shots…because that would be illegal!)

If the frogs in your pond are too loud and annoy a neighbour, a court can rule to have your pond destroyed

Having noisy neighbours isn’t unheard of, but have you ever been kept awake at night by frogs?

A couple living in the quaint village of Grignols were told by the French court that their grenouilles (frogs) must go! This was a court ruling which took place in 2020 after a nine-year stint of legal battles between neighbours finally came to a head.

The neighbours complained they could no longer stand the constant noise of the croaky frogs, in fact an expert is said to have visited and estimated the noise of the frogs at 63 decibels (the average sound of a washing machine).

After the court ruling, the couple were told they had 90 days to drain their 300 square meter pond with a population of a whopping 587 frogs (no wonder it was noisy!) and asked to get rid of the amphibians. Failure to do so and they would incur a fine of €150 each day.

Fighting for their frogs, a petition to save the ‘Grenouilles of Grignols’ was created and reached over 100,000 signatures, but alas to no avail.

To be honest, it probably won’t come as much of a surprise that this isn’t the only complaint of countryside noise to make headlines… from qucking ducks, crowing cocks, cow bells and even to smelly cows where legal action has been taken!

It’s illegal to pee or spit on the street

This will probably surprise you if you’ve ever been to Paris! But it is actually illegal to spit on the street, originally brought in by the Vichy government in 1942 to reduce the widespread of tuberculosis disease.

That being said, unless you are doing so right in front of a police officer (which I strongly advise against) this law is virtually unenforceable for obvious reasons.

And the same goes for public urination. Referred to in French as le pipi sauvage, or “wild peeing”, it considered an offence to pee in the street.

This is actually quite a common law in a lot of countries, usually under the same rule of thumb as ‘public indecency’. But let’s be honest, with the lack of available public toilets in the city it’s no surprise people are forced to take a leak on the street!

Infidelity as grounds for divorce can also be in an intellectual sense

It is not only just physical cheating that could be classed as infidelity in France. In fact the laws surrounding divorce in France mean that they also class intellectual infidelity as grounds for separation. This means that you could technically divorce your husband for watching too much football if you got the right lawyer involved!

Similarly, (under the guise of physical infidelity), if your partner smokes too much and you feel your health is at risk, you have the right to simply pack up your bags and go in search for cleaner air.

You can marry a deceased person (under certain circumstances)

Arguably this is one of the weirdest French laws of a rather unusual bunch! If someone’s dead before you got a chance to get down the aisle with them, then don’t worry, you might still be able to marry them in France even if they are no longer with us.

The law states, as long as said person had the intention of marrying you while alive and you get the approval of the French president and the family of the deceased, then happy wedding day to you!

The law was brought about in the 1950s after tradgedy struck when a dam broke and killed 400 people in Fréjus. One woman, Irène Jodart, pleaded with the French president at the time, Charles de Gaulle, that her marriage plans go on even though her fiancé had died. And, with support from the media, within months Irène Jodart was allowed to be married!

The intention must purely be for love, however. If you marry someone who has died, you won’t receive any money or property from the deceased. However, this does not affect inheritance laws and so if someone is pregnant with the deceased’s child, then the child would legally have claim to part of the deceased’s estate (in France you can’t write your children out of your will).

To this day, France remains one of the few countries in which it’s legal to marry a partner posthumously.

Since 1954 it’s been illegal for UFOs to fly over Chateauneuf du Pape 

This is more for marketing purposes than anything else! For decades now a law has been put in place wherein “flying over, landing, or taking off of flying saucers and UFOs” is completely illegal in Chateauneuf du Pape.

In fact, any life forms that are to emerge from illegal UFOs in this small wine producing town will face immediate arrest under the 1954 law in place.

You’re not allowed to name your child…

Every year the French courts use the law to prevent a handful of baby names that could be to the detriment of your child, and truth be told, this is probably for the best!

Of course, i’m all up the freedom of naming as you wish, but lets keep that to your pets people… your child will have a very different life if you decide to call them Ikea, Nutella or Mini-Cooper (yes, there was a couple who tried to name their baby after the German car brand).

That being said, in 2018 a French couple were told to give their child ‘a more feminine name’ after fears that the name Liam for a little girl would cause gender confusion, so it’s true that this law is sometimes taken too far.

 The following names were rejected by a French judge on the basis in that they would disadvantage the child:

• Prince William
• Mini Cooper
• Nutella
• Fraise (the French word for strawberry- the girl was renamed Fraisine after a 19th century name)
• Manhattan
• MJ (the parents wanted this to serve as an homage to Michael Jackson but were forced to rename him Jean)
• Titeuf (the titular hero of a popular comic series)
• Joyeux (the French word for happy)
• Patriste (a phonetic version of ‘pas triste’ which means ‘not sad’ in English)
• Babar
• Gloarnic
• Folavril (after a famous French perfume but the parents were forced to change the name to Zoe instead)
• Fañch (the parents were told that they weren’t allowed to use this ñ in the name)
• Babord (Port) and Tribord (Starboard)
• Mercedes (because the family last name was Benz)

Mosquito ban

In the small town, Briollay in western France, the town’s mayor is said to have taken drastic action against the floods of mosquitoes. He decided to effectively ban the pesky insects with a municipal decree in 2018. However, this legislation has had little impact, considering the fact that mosquitoes can’t read!

Snails must purchase a ticket to travel on French trains

The French law says that any animals weighing less than that of 5kg must travel with their own ticket, so if you see a snail on board your train and hasn’t bought a ticket, it’s probably breaking the law…

Previous revoked laws

It was illegal for women to wear trousers in Paris until 2013 

This law is completely surprising but also completely true! Initially imposed on November 17, 1800, this law was said to have been put in place so as to prevent women from doing certain jobs, as well as preventing them from dressing “in the manner of men”.

According to the law women of France needed to have permission from the local police if they wished to “dress like a man” and wear trousers. Of course thankfully this law was mostly ignored, but let’s be honest it’s the principal!

It was even modified in 1892 and 1909 to allow women to wear trousers… only if they were holding a bicycle handlebar or the reins of a horse…make it make sense!

During the French Revolution Parisian women had actually requested the right to wear trousers, and working class revolutionaries became known as the “sans-culottes”, which translates as ‘without pants’.

It wasn’t until the Minister of Women’s Rights, Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, called to appeal this archaic 200-year old law and have it officially removed from the statute books of France.

French laws which don’t exist

It is illegal to kiss in the train station

This is an urban legend and we can’t find any record of this weird French law actually existing! This is a popular myth which spread amongst transport users in France saying that it’s illegal to kiss on the platform as it may delay the train. Possibly just someone who worked at the station and got fed up with watching all the goodbye kisses?

You can’t call your pig Napoleon

This is an urban legend and probably came about because the pig in George Orwell’s animal farm was renamed Cesar in the French edition. So go ahead and call your pig, dog, or snail Napoleon. To be honest, you can’t call you’d child Nutella but you could name your kid Napoleon if you want! (read more about French baby girl names here).