Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The French complain about the hours of waiting in line and
difi culty of getting answers from French bureaucrats. Just
take three deep breaths, expect many detours and bring some
good reading material along to read while you are waiting.
Women's Rights
You will note that Rousseau's quote at the beginning of this
section refers to the rights of 'men', not of 'people'. The original
Napoleonic Code gave few rights to women. It is only since
1923 that women have had the right to open their own mail and
only since World War II that women have had the right to vote.
However, French law protects women in many ways.
The Government provides maternity and child care as well
as abortion on demand. After a protest by anti-abortion
groups in France, the manufacturer of the world's i rst legal
'abortion pill' took their product off the market. The French
Government made them put it back on, arguing that it was
an important medical advance for French women.
A woman alone with children holds all rights and obligations
for the family, unless it is decided differently by the courts.
Women who have a third child are rewarded with extra home-
help allowances. But marriage and courtship are more formal
and both marriage and divorce procedures more complex. A
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